Ethical aspects of bribing people in other countries

Some argue that individuals and organizations doing business in countries w here corruption is prevalent should not be expected to adhere to strict sta ndards of ethical practice. The basis for such arguments is faulty. Ethics, unlike etiquette, has a universal basis; it is fundamentally the same all over the world. Even in a practical sense, there are long range advantages to be gained by ethical behavior in these situations. Engineering employees of companies operating in areas where corruption is common ale sometimes f orced to make very difficult decisions. The focus in this paper is on the ethical aspects of the problem. Laws appl ying to companies doing business abroad, for example the US Corrupt Practic es Act, are not discussed.