Expensive dinners and entertainment can definitely count as bribes. In certain sectors of government, decision makers are required to disclose things like when vendors take them out to dinner or pay for fancy seats at ball games.
> In certain sectors of government, decision makers are required to disclose things like when vendors take them out to dinner or pay for fancy seats at ball games.
I used to work in this space. Not only what you are saying is wrong but it's very illegal. I was lectured for offering a government representative lunch from a cheap place we were all going to (have to give them the opportunity to pay).
There are so many rules around this that the type of bribery you're referring to just doesn't happen.
I used to work in a city IT department and the department head would allow future prospective and already existing vendors to take them out for meals "if we weren't currently soliciting bids from that specific company for work."
Yeah, like they are taking you out because you are buds and they never plan on submitting any bids or extending contracts in the future?
A lot of what I saw in the government when I worked there was borderline illegal but certainly ethically wrong.
the company i work for doesnt allow us to provide dinner/entertainment for clients/vendors, nor can we accept offers to be taken out for dinners/entertainment.
if we do go out somewhere, we pay our own
we deal with govt and large healthcare corporations, the same policies are the norm among them.
we also get these policies hammered into us quarterly through Anti-bribery/corruption and code of ethics training which is mandatory for all 30k employees regardless of role.
