Author: Zhang Guoxiang
From "Suppliers, Please Don't Harm Corporate Executives"
A senior executive received a text message like this: "Please help me resolve the issue of my payment. I will give you three to five points as a tea money." He did not respond but forwarded the message to his boss. After learning about it, the boss invited the supplier for dinner and seriously warned the supplier not to corrupt his executives. Thereafter, whenever entertaining suppliers, the boss would solemnly remind them of this.
What the boss said was undoubtedly right and necessary, but it is definitely not enough. Without strict internal governance systems and monitoring processes within the enterprise, relying solely on a reminder and the self-discipline of corporate executives is unreliable. Establishing a sound internal control system is the fundamental solution to the problem.
Last night, I chatted with several corporate executives, and we discussed how to deal with suppliers. Several of them frankly admitted that the temptation was great, but they also clearly stated that they would not accept bribes. Everyone knows that it's easy to take a supplier's money but hard to use it. First, there are no walls that don't leak information. Second, "If you eat someone else's food, your mouth becomes soft; if you take someone else's money, your hands become soft." It's not worth being ordered around for a small amount of money. Of course, there are deeper reasons - the company has already provided good compensation. What suppliers offer is always one-time, whereas what one can get from the company is long-term or even lifelong. Comparing the two, a wise person would never choose a one-time benefit over long-term benefits. These two things can never be had at the same time! No one should harbor any侥幸 (侥幸 means侥幸 psychology).
— Consulting Diary No. 58
September 27, 2010 Morning
This article comes from:
Salutations and Conversations, Key to Success or Failure in Workplace Networking - "Conversation Chapter"_4487