What is the business ethic re: gift giving?

Question

What is the business ethic re: gift giving?

Answer 1

Company Policy Regarding Gift-Giving.  Many companies are developing policies related to gift-giving. Some are more informal than others. For the most part, exchanging gifts in the workplace should be discouraged since it may lead to disruption and discord among your employees. For instance, if a popular employee is overloaded with gifts from fellow co-workers while another employee receives little or nothing, this could easily lead to jealousy and competitiveness. Eventually, this disruption could result in lower productivity.

Some companies have chosen to put limits on value of a gift an employee can receive or give to a client. The purpose of this type of policy is to limit bribes. Many times policies of this nature will be combined with some type of ethics policy and/or training which addresses the moral issues related to gift-giving and bribery.

It is important to note that whether or not you have an official gift-giving policy, employees should know what is expected of them. It is naive to believe that everyone knows the proprietary guidelines of gift-giving. Also, be aware of the policies (official or informal) of the other businesses you deal with. If one of your client companies has a strict gift-giving policy, make sure that you respect it by not offering them gifts which they would have to reject.

For the most part, gift-giving is a positive way to build strong relationships in the business world. By knowing how to use them appropriately, you will be able to effectively reach out to others.