"The reality is that to maximize opportunities in the growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe and in developing countries, corporations must strive to be seen as honest, long-term, committed guests," says Frank Vogl, president of Vogl Communications, Inc., and vice chairman of Transparency International. Vogl argues that even allegations of paying bribes can reduce demand for a company's products, plunge its share price, and spark political and media investigations.

Multinational corporations are beginning to join a global movement to combat corruption. To have suggested this five years ago risked ridicule. Today, even the most established organizations are on board in a vast uphill struggle to fight back against bribery.

Let me cite just a few examples:

Mark Moody-Stewart, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, has crafted a whole new code of business ethics for his company that fully embraces the edict that Shell will not engage in any form of corrupt practices.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn, in recent remarks to finance ministers and central bankers from more than 170 countries, called for a new development framework based on "good governance -- transparency, voice, the free flow of information, a commitment to fight corruption."

Hans Engelberts, general secretary of Public Services International -- the global public sector workers' union coalition -- has said that it is time for unions to bring the issue of corruption center stage "and to start doing something about it."

The focus of the movement to stop bribing by multinational corporations is the anti-corruption treaty of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The treaty has been signed by the 29 OECD members and five countries with emerging markets in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

This agreement will take the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) global. Until now, the United States has been alone in making foreign bribery a criminal offense. The OECD convention, once it comes into force, will focus attention on global corruption by leaders of business and labor. Corporations everywhere will face criminal penalties in their home countries if they bribe foreign officials.

The OECD agreement against the bribe-givers also gives momentum to institutions like the World Bank in its efforts to convince developing countries to strengthen their anti-bribery laws, create effective anti-corruption institutions, and, in general, get serious about reducing the abuse of public office for private gain.

Pressures on businesses, national governments, and international institutions also has been increased by Transparency International (TI), a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with chapters in over 70 countries.

TI is striving to develop a Bribery Propensity Index (BPI) that would rank the biggest bribe-payers, probably by first looking at the home countries of multinational corporations that, in varying degrees, support foreign corrupt practices by business. The BPI would complement TI's Corruption Perceptions Index, which looks at countries taking bribes. The BPI will be dynamite in the hands of the media if it can be credibly constructed and will serve to add to the pressure on business to be more honest in global commerce.

But it is not just external pressures that are gradually bringing about change in the halls of business power. Shell has sought to adopt a tougher anti-bribery stance above all because it believes it makes good business sense. It is difficult to expect corporate employees to be honest inside a firm and act with integrity toward their colleagues when they are being encouraged to use bribes, kickbacks, and other unethical practices to win business.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been around for a generation, and a lot of U.S. firms have learned to live with it and thrive. For example, despite the FCPA, which some business leaders in the United States see as a handicap in their global competitiveness, 6 of the 10 largest corporations in the world, based on the volume of their foreign assets, are American.

Not being able to offer bribes forces competitive global corporations to search for artful and ethical ways to be effective competitors. Many U.S. multinational firms have found useful approaches, and increasing numbers can learn from the leaders.

THE EMPHASIS ON REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

While perceptions of corruption in many of the developing countries of the world are desperately high, consider that Coca-Cola is operational in all of these countries, is doing well, is beating competitors, and is not paying bribes. The company is thoughtful and painstaking about how it enters new markets, how it selects local business partners, and how it conducts itself in foreign countries. Integrity is key to its approaches.

Coca-Cola makes maximum effort to be transparent in its dealings, to win public support, and to develop the kind of strength -- from its consumers and the public at large -- that make top officials uneasy about seeking bribes from the beverage giant. What leader in any country is willing to risk a public announcement by Coca-Cola that it is quitting the country rather than pay a fat bribe to the head of state? So far, none.

The reality is that to maximize opportunities in the growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe and in developing countries, corporations must strive to be seen as honest, long-term, committed guests. Corporations must impress upon host governments, customers, suppliers, and the general public that they seek fair, open, long-term relationships.

Coca-Cola, for example, has repeatedly demonstrated around the world its recognition that heavy and consistent investments in reputation management are needed to establish this image. It trains its staff to learn about the traditions, politics, and values of the people in all of the countries in which it operates. It gives key responsibilities to nationals of these countries and ensures that its image is never that of a ruthless multinational colonialist corporation.

And Coca-Cola goes further. It plays a full role in most of the countries in which it works, supporting education and the arts and social services in a long-term and genuine way. Coca-Cola understands that the key to its success is its determination to show its business partners, no matter what their traditions and nationalities, that this company values integrity and understands the language of partnership and respect. This attitude garners admiration from its host countries.

Another example is Levi Strauss & Company, which sells its clothing around the globe and manufactures it in dozens of countries. It is a corporation guided by a set of values that daily impact its global strategies. It understands the importance of ensuring that hosts in foreign countries are aware of its values from the outset of forging a new relationship. In its public corporate statements, Levi Strauss has stated boldly, for example: "We will not initiate or renew contractual relationships in countries where the legal environment creates unreasonable risk to our trademarks or to other important commercial interests or seriously impedes our ability to implement these guidelines."

THE COSTS OF UNETHICAL PRACTICES

Paying bribes is only one consideration in the broader arena of reputation management that concerns a growing number of firms -- corporations that genuinely believe that acting ethically makes good business sense and that know that to be seen to be unethical can carry huge costs. Allegations of a lack of sensitivity to human rights against Shell, of paying bribes in Argentina against IBM, and of exploiting child labor against Nike can reduce consumer demands for corporate products, plunge the company's share price, make it difficult to recruit outstanding new staff, spark political and media investigations, and massively divert top management from crucial operational work.

It is against this background that increasing numbers of corporations around the world are becoming more sensitive to the risks of being exposed as corrupt and to the merits of pursuing business with integrity. Curbing corruption is a painstakingly slow process. But progress is being made, even with regard to the propensity of multinational corporations that are following or considering no-bribery strategies. And that is good news.