Are Bribes Ever Ethical?
(Added 8/1/2016)
A donor has asked that her gift be used to provide medical supplies to families in impoverished Middle East countries where my charitable organization works. Yesterday, during a Skype call, an on-the-ground employee (a close friend as well as a colleague) told me in confidence that he secretly uses a “not insignificant” portion of his budget to bribe distributors in some countries. So far, he said, he has been able to hide the money used for this purpose from the organization’s finance people. These are forced bribes; he says otherwise the materials very well might not get through. In fact, he says, he has heard that some drivers would fear for their lives without enough ready cash to pay at the frequent checkpoints on the way to their destinations. I have a few other donors who have been specific about how their money is to be used in our efforts in the Middle East, and I can assure you that the goal of bribery has not been mentioned. Is it right to take the money, knowing that part of it is being wasted and used to line the pockets of corrupt officials?
This conundrum requires us to consider ethics in the context of different cultures. A more basic question might be whether the bribe itself is ethical. Clearly, it’s not – least at not by the standards people aspire to in many countries – but there seems to be no stopping it in some others, at least with the resources your organization (or any other charitable organization) has. This is generally a matter for governments to negotiate – and even the agreements in those negotiations that go well in this context are not always upheld. It is well known that doing business in many countries around the world – even when that business is philanthropic – requires palms to be greased. And it’s true that absent the bribe, the work might not get done.
This question must be discussed and decided upon at the board level of your organization. From what I sense in your question (the confidential comment in your Skype call), it has not been. That would be the first step. While, on the face of it, bribery is wrong, it is more wrong, in my view, to play a role in it without being honest within your own group. As the supplies would not be distributed otherwise, I could easily understand accepting this repugnant condition, knowing that payoffs are part of how the work gets done. This is an example that clearly illustrates why ethical decision-making is rarely a black-and-white process where everyone is happy with the outcome. If your charity’s mission is to save lives in war-torn regions of the world, your board and senior staff must be prepared to address uncomfortable questions.
But the donor should be told. If we can’t influence ethical decision-making in other countries, we can certainly take control over our own internal policies. Regardless of the reasons that might support a decision to engage in bribery, you have no choice but to be honest with the donor. While she might balk at future gifts – or even demand a return of her previous gifts – she must be told how her money is being used. That is, your honesty to her is more important than her money is to you. Such a discussion, should your organization resolve to accommodate bribery requests when and where they are required (as determined by your trusted people on location), could be an opportunity to lay out the realities of how you are obligated to perform your work. Donors might very well understand if you explain those realities: if you simply decided not to play ball, many people would not get the care they need – the common goal of both your organization and your donors.