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Ethics and Gift-Giving
Being familiar with both the cultures of India and of America, I can compare the legal codes of the two nations regarding gift giving. In both countries, bribery is considered illegal; however, there are ways to get around this legal doctrine, and ways in which nepotism, favoritism, and gift giving can not only be accomplished but can even be expected (Joseph, 2012). For example, in India, it is common practice to give jobs in employment to family and friends, if you are a government worker, or if you own a business (Christie et al., 2003). Persons in positions of power in India are accustomed to passing on to friends and relatives the benefits of their position, and it is largely expected; even bribery, while illegal, is expected and assumed among government officials (Shafiq, 2015). Graft is very much a problem in the country, but it is also accepted by most classes as the cost of doing business (Shafiq, 2015).
In America, legal codes are far more exacting on the issue of gift giving. As Schultz (2010) notes, "gift-giving is a paradigmatic private virtue that can become a public vice in a professional setting" (p. 162). Often times, there are conflict-of-issues laws that...
While this can be viewed as against cultural norms (for no culture rejects the concept of gift-giving), in democratic societies, favoritism is viewed with skepticism and associated with corruption ala the kind of crony capitalism that became problematic for many in the U.S. in the early 20th century and late 19th century (Menes, 2003), when big business interests were uniting to form monopolies and corporate entities were enlisting friends and family members in government to introduce laws to facilitate their own agendas (Menes, 2003).
The influence of culture on the ethics of gift-giving practices is readily apparent in both countries. In India, the culture is much more accepting of the culture of gift-giving and does not adhere so strongly to the "democratic values" that have only come to the country in recent years, so the concept of giving jobs or donations to friends/family is only controversial in the sense that it flies in the face of the…
References
Christie, M. et al. (2003). A cross-cultural comparison of ethical attitudes of business managers: India, Korea and the United States. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(3): 263-287.
Menes, R. (2003). Corruption in cities: Graft and politics in American cities at the turn of the twentieth century. NBER Working Paper No. 9990. National Bureau of Economic Research.
NOHS. (2015). Ethical standards for human service professionals. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals
Joseph, M. (2012). Across India, Nepotism as a Way of Life. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/world/asia/12iht-letter12.html
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