Question

Why (or why not) are bribes immoral? How can you tell if a payment made in a business transaction is a bribe or not?

From Business ethics class.

Answer 1

How one defines immorality is an important element of the difficulty in evaluating the immoral nature of bribes. I believe it can show how a bribe fits into its setup by using a fundamental standard to describe immoral conduct. Aristotle "saw many vices in relation to some virtue as excesses or deficits, as cowardice and rashness relate to bravery." In this light, bribery can be regarded as immoral because it moves people away from virtuous behaviour. For instance, by attempting to exert undue influence, bribery moves people away from honesty and acting in an honorable way.

Bribery can be seen as immoral in another light because it moves people away from the norm of equal opportunity and equal access. Bribery can be seen as immoral as it moves people away from transcendent concepts of virtuous conduct and brings them nearer to the sphere of vice. I believe bribery can be considered as immoral in this manner.
A fundamental definition could be a useful starting point in terms of being able to define if a bribe was present in a company transaction. In this light, the following can be regarded as a bribe

A bribe is a payment made by a third party to a principal's agent in which the officer expressly or implicitly agrees to take action contrary to his obligation as the principal's officer and is therefore not in the principal's interest.
From this normal knowledge of a bribe, one can say whether a payment taken in a company transaction is a bribe when action is taken that is contrary to one's obligation and not in the interests of the business person. For instance, a bribe is obvious when there is a direct promise and assurance of that promise, even if it goes against the main company party's interests

In a company transaction, bribes can sometimes be obvious due to a absence of transparency. Terms such as "rendered services" may be efficient indicators of bribes being provided due to their elusive and vague nature. Because a bribe can be considered as anything of value outside of the principal's immediate and indicated concern, bribes can be supplied in the form of money, extra payment promises, or even donations. These are all instances of bribes and all examples of how bribes in the company environment or in a company transaction can be acknowledged.