Bribing in Africa is so common it could be considered a business practice
Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
151–160 of 409 posts
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm somewhat confused. Here in America when you want to accomplish something like open a new facility you basically force the potential municipalities into competing with each other to win your favor. A big company will go to all the Chambers of Commerce in a given area and basically say "we're considering opening a 100,000 Sq ft facility and hiring 300 people. What incentives can you offer me if I build it here?" Th…
> What incentives can you offer me if I build it here?". Then the towns will bend over backwards, gut their taxes, ease their planning zones, and basically contort everything they can to become the most appealing location. I mean, that's basically a bribe too, we just don't call it a bribe when we do it on our side. "Woah, woah, woah. You can't just hand government officials money! That's bribery! You have to do busi…
Except they're not really close because in one case, the government is handing you tax payer money in exchange for potential growth and revenue for the city whereas in the other case you are paying a specific government official for personal gain.
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yup, it is mindbogglingly unimaginable to people who spent their whole lives living in the west, but as someone who moved out of Russia over a decade ago, it is the exact same thing there. Extremely normalized in every single aspect. Applying for a passport? Well, you can do it normally, wait 9-12 months, hope papers don't get lost in the process (again), and maybe eventually you will be able to get it after a 2nd or…
12 months, in India now getting a passport take 1-4 weeks with no bribe involved.
Absolutely this.. Things in India have changed a lot in the last decade. Passports are one example. It used to take months when I was a kid. My first passport took 3 months from application to getting it in hand and needed an "agent". My last one was through "taktal" - expedited application by paying extra fees and I got an SMS that the passport was sent to the printers by the time I walked out of the passport office. Another sms that it was dispatched next day and the day after I had it in my hand. No bribes, no agents, super smooth.
For the common person, the most corrupt organizations they would encounter is around land and house registration, cops and maybe the DMV. If you work for the government, then it gets even worse as you are expected to pay for the job, pay for transfer to a nicer place etc. However, it is getting better every year.
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
From a moral standpoint I think we have to accept how other societies are run and act accordingly, and our laws should end at our borders.
That suggests that human beings are substantially different outside our borders, and that ethics are not universal.
Sounds right to me. In fact that’s one of the main reasons why we have different nations and borders in the first place. We should not assume our WEIRD values are universal.
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#155Former Microsoftie here. After all the business ethics training videos I had to sit through, I am infuriated by this.
Those annual trainings are there to show compliance. This prevents pro active investigations by authorities into business conduct. Without those corporations are free to engage in all kinda of shady business behaviour. And when something turns sideways, the offending employees passed the training, so the company is shielded, to an extend.
Those annual trainings are there to show compliance.
And also obeisance -- on the part of the person required to sit through these trainings (and pretend that they had some connection to reality).
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#156[dead]
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
I live in Kazakhstan and while I don't have any evidence, I'm pretty sure that many huge western companies operating here bribed officials. I don't think that's necessary part of local culture. Of course in poor country officials with $200/month salary are happy to get $1000 gift for signing $100 000 agreement. Western companies are huge part of corruption source here. That's my opinion. I've heard that Ikea decided…
If Ikea did not bribe and failed to get approval perhaps it is part of the local culture of getting anything approved
There is an important distinction in this law. Paying an official to do something he would have done anyway is not a bribe, even if in the absence of it they might have never "gotten around to it".
It's specifically things like this article alleges, kickbacks to officials involved in procurement decisions.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Corrupt_Practices_Act#...
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#158> "What is a shock: This time around, the SEC and DOJ have both declined to investigate Microsoft over the same types of bribes in the Middle East and Africa. They acknowledged my evidence (which I submitted three times) yet did not take up the case, claiming that the current pandemic has prevented them from gathering more evidence from abroad—even though I have already provided documentation that I believe shows Mic…
More likely that Microsoft learned a very good lesson from their 1990s encounter with the DOJ, but it wasn't the hoped for "stop doing illegal and unethical things" but instead "make more and better targeted political contributions."
and share data with 3 letter agencies
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#159Jesus do you know how many training videos about anti-corruption and bribery I've had to watch as an MS employee?
Re: Microsoft is tied to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bribes
#160> "What is a shock: This time around, the SEC and DOJ have both declined to investigate Microsoft over the same types of bribes in the Middle East and Africa. They acknowledged my evidence (which I submitted three times) yet did not take up the case, claiming that the current pandemic has prevented them from gathering more evidence from abroad—even though I have already provided documentation that I believe shows Mic…
This is what life in an oligarchy is all about. Now, back to checking how much the S&P 500 is up today.