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Starnes-Brenner Machine Tool Company

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Starnes-Brenner Machine Tool Company
Starnes-Brenner Machine Tool Company
To Bribe or Not to Bribe

Introduction

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Case Summary Ethics Legality Similar Cases Real World Lessons Learned

Case Summary

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Starnes-Brenner Machine Tools Company


Wants more international presence

Latino – Fictional South American Country Frank – 10 years of success


Retiring Replacing Frank



Bill – Young, motivated, rising star


Case Summary Cont.


Conflict between Frank & Bill


Frank plays by Latino “rules”




Frank pays mordidas (Bribe money) to get equipment passed by government officials States business will fail without the payment of mordidas



Bill follows a more strict sales style



Bill absolutely opposes the idea of mordidas States business will be successful without paying mordidas

Ethics


Bill believes its unethical


own personal beliefs as well as refusing to break US laws Believes they are not encouraging bribery to spread but rather just accepting the Latinos ways of doing business



Frank sees nothing wrong with it


Legality


Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)


US law prohibits any types of payments to a foreign official that will influence an act or decision to obtain an unfair advantage

Similar Cases: Halliburton/Nigeria


Halliburton’s Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary, as well as 3 other companies are suspected of having paid a $180 million bribe to the former government of Nigeria in order to build a liquefied-natural-gas plant
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Valued at $4 billion to $6 billion Other companies are from France, Italy, and Japan

Halliburton/Nigeria Cont.


Vice President Dick Cheney was the former CEO of Halliburton from 1995-2000


Case spans 1995 through 2002 starting the year VP Cheney took over as CEO



The alleged bribe has been under investigation since last year by a French judge. The Judge has gone so far as to suggest that he may summon Cheney to France

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