The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

In the previous unit, you discussed national laws that impact business. Now in this unit you will discuss the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and how it might or might not affect you on the job.

Topics

Research the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act on the Internet

Part 1: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is somewhat ambiguous. Discuss the meaning of this Act and what is allowed, not allowed, and to whom it applies. If you are working in the U.S., would this law affect you? How about in a foreign country?

In many companies, in order to ascend through the higher echelons of the organization, you must spend some time working abroad. In this scenario you see a possible real life scenario as to what you may encounter. Discuss your response to the following:

Part 2: You are working in Mexico City on an assignment for one year. You are being trained in the Mexican sales department of a U.S. medical instrument company. You are excited because you are about to bid on your first potential contract for the equivalent of $200,000 a year for 3 years with a major hospital. As you get out of your car, you run into your competition, a sales representative who says, "Good luck, you'll need it! We have this $200,000 contract already... that new car in the general manager's parking spot should seal this deal!," and walks off with a smirk on his face. How should you respond to this situation? What choices do you have?