The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG - Case Study Example In relation to the issues, some people analyzed different things that they could use as ways of justification of the events of the scandals and assumed that it was not a serious issue. For instance, Siemens AG officials did not accept that they had involved themselves in a case of bribery by saying that the money went to the payment of an external consultant. Otherwise, the court determined the case that the money coincided with procurement of some equipment from various international markets during the period. One of the most notable cases in the contract scandals involved â‚ ¬6 million, which some Siemens AG management had paid to some foreign officials involved in a natural gas turbine contract, which Siemens AG wanted to win. Siemens AG had involved itself in several other scandals in Germany and in other countries between 2005 and 2006, and some other cases were under investigations and not yet clarified. In defense, the convicted employees argued that the action was not a vi olation of any law because it never was for a personal gain, and said that it was a plan to secure a productive deal the company needed, and the money was part of the bid. The defense the Siemens employees raised was a misinterpretation of the law because they based their arguments on the issue that, it is the custom of multinational companies, to establish their businesses on bribery and corruption, to win international contracts. This was a deviation from the ethical laws which requires companies to exercise what is right in coming up with business deals that are related to the work they are doing. According to business ethics for multinational companies, an action is moral if doing it does not contravene the culture or the wellbeing of the host country. Although there are differences in culture, in different places in the world, a wrong act remains so regardless of the place of origin of the doer and the people who do it and the perceived benefits to the trading company (Boatrigh t 335). In some cases, differences in culture have influenced the conduct of the people in the business relations because the individuals in the context depend on the perspective of the residents of country in which they trade. Many companies practice double standards which make them neglect some ethical standards they bear from their home countries and in conforming to the standards of the foreign countries, do illegal activities (Boatright 335). This could be the reason why Siemens AG involved itself in different scandals in various countries in order to secure some opportunities in the market, and ensure their competitiveness. Question 2 In failing to extend the term of service of Klaus Kleinfeld, who was the Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Siemens AG, the supervisory board did not do the right thing. The board generalized the issues of the scandals without a clear focus to the criminals in the management in an attempt to clean up the name of the company in the world market. Des pite the fact that the supervisory board of Siemens AG did not get anything to  implicate  directly on  Kleinfeld in any of the scandals; he was an active person in establishing the company as a profitable business (Krishna and Purkayastha 11). The way of thinking of the supervisory board members to clean up the top management without considering the personal contribution of those individuals was a bad generalization. This is because the integrity of the