In every human system there are some combination of the official rules and the unwritten rules (aka cultural norms) governing behavior.  The more closed a system, in this case a country, the more ripe it is for abuse and corruption that goes unchecked and gets passed off (or justified away) as a "cultural norm".

The "when in Rome" philosophy is a slippery slope indeed when it comes to ethical business practices.  An "innocent" bribe leads to things like lead in the paint used on children's toys and Chinese dry wall.  We have to be careful not to blame the source of the products though, because somewhere along the line was what seemed like "good corruption" that let those products get across our borders.

A long way of saying I share your view on this Mike!
.-= Susan Mazza´s last blog ..<a href="http://randomactsofleadership.com/2010/03/23/the-urge-to-lead/" rel="nofollow">The Urge to Lead</a> =-.