"content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves theright to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.606 Part 5: CasesAt the same time, the U.K. SFO brought charges against two of Alstom’s British subsidiaries forsimilar offenses. These charges were not brought under the Bribery Act as they occurred prior to2011, but they are punishable under other criminal bribery laws. If convicted, the company willface further fines and penalties in the United Kingdom. Alstom’s situation may be somewhatexceptional considering the extent and global reach of its acts of bribery; U.S. Deputy AttorneyGeneral James Cole called it “astounding in its breadth, its brazenness and its worldwideconsequences.” However, it highlights the potential for companies engaged in globalwrongdoing to face multiplying charges as more countries pass wide-reaching anti-bribery laws.Such companies should pay even closer attention to establishing ethical internal cultures andstrong compliance programs, as well as keeping close scrutiny on their operations to prevent anypossibility of illegal bribery.NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE IMPACT OF BRIBERYTo truly understand the impact of bribery on a country’s society and economy, the influence ofinstitutions and their tolerance of bribery must be examined. Organizations operate based ontaken-for-granted institutional norms and rules. Institutions include political, social, andeconomic conventions. For example, in the political area, governments develop legislation toregulate business activities, including bribery. In Mexico bribery is not considered as major aconcern as in the United States. While the U.S. Department of Justice views the FCPA as a toppriority, in Mexico the authorities were unconcerned when Walmart allegedly paid governmentofficials substantial sums to speed up zoning and licensing agreements. Social institutions alsoprovide conventions of acceptable behavior. Again, in Mexico it is not unusual for individuals topay bribes to law enforcement officers to avoid traffic violations. Economic systems have embedded conventions as well. Often bribery is more typical in communist countries such asChina and is seen as an acceptable way of doing business. Nations with weaker institutions tendto have more incidences of bribery, which indicates corruption in the social, political, andeconomic sectors. Countries with high levels of corruption, such as Somalia and North Korea,therefore face political, social, and environmental costs. The prominent political and social costsof bribery include the people’s lack of trust in government. When politicians are corrupt, citizenshave no incentive to follow rules and instead engage in the same type of corrupt behaviormodeled in the political system. Transparency International reports that citizens who view theirleaders as corrupt are more likely to act accordingly. Table 2 provides a list of the countries mostlikely to use bribery to conduct business. Civil unrest that can result from corruption carries therisk of inflicting extreme violence and harm. Thus, the political implications of bribery include acognitive distancing and lack of trust in government as well as a culture permeated withcorruption. Governments with a high amount of corruption are likely to be run by despots withlittle incentive to protect or acknowledge universal human rights. The economic costs ofcorruption can be seen throughout the world. Mexico, rated at 103 for corruption in a ranking of174 countries (174th being most corrupt) by Transparency International, received negative presswhen Walmex (Wal-Mart de Mexico) paid bribes to government officials in order to acceleratestore expansions. Somalia, ranked as the most corrupt country in the world by TransparencyInternational, is associated with piracy. It is important to realize the economic costs of briberyfall disproportionately on BK-CHE-FERRELL_11E-150190-Case 18.indd 606 11/11/15 3:40 PMCopyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, orduplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be "