Bribery and corruption

Language
Match !he words on !he left to !he definitions on !he right:

l. a gift

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

a reward
a tip
a bribe
a perk
hospitality
a favour
influence

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

friendly and generous treatment and entertainment of guests

a benefit received as pan of the arrangements with your employer
something given willingly without payment
a helpful act
the ability to obtain favourable treatment from someone
something given or received for doing something good
a small sum of money given ro someone for their services
something given or offered in return for sorne, often dishonest, help

Now work in pairs. Match the 8 words above to ene of !he following situations. lf you think more !han
ene answer is possible, discuss the differences.

1. Your boss is retiring. The employees give her sorne beautiful gold earrings at her leaving party.
2. You visir a foreign company to discuss a new contraer. They pay for a 5-star hotel and your expenses.
3. You want ro build an extension to your house, but you need permission from the local council. You
give money to one of the local councillors to make sure yo u get permission.
4. Your sales manager increases your business by 200% in a year. You give him a new BMW.
5. After paying the salon, you give a tittle extra money ro the hairdresser who cut your hair.
6. You get a free lunch in the staff canteen every day.
7. Yo u use your friendship with a member of the government to make sure that yo u get a particular
government contraer.
8. You won't be home in time to pickup your suit from the dry cleaner's. You ask a friend to get it.

Reading
Read !he articles below and answer this question:

All three anides involve bribery. Do they also involve corruption?

MATCH-FIXING IS NORMAL
According toa fonner club manager,
bribery in Russia's top football
leagues is so shameless and obvious
that referees are known to ask for
more money in the middle of garnes.
The manager of a St Petersburg club
during the nineties said: ''I've never
meta referee who didn 't take mane y.
It's useless to play if you have no
money."
Apparently. there are three ways to
success. You can bribe the other
team, you can bribe tbe referee, or
you can bribe the teams that play
your rivals. If yo u can afford todo al!
three, the championship will be
yours.

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BRIBED BUS DRIVER SACKED

A bus driver from Bournemouth has
been sacked for taking bis bus on an
unauthorised route. Brian Jeffries
altered the route of the number 22
service after a passenger offered him
no to drop him off outside bis
house, which in volved a two-minute
diversion. No bus stops were missed,
but one passenger was obviously
displeased and reported the incident
anonymously to the bus company.
Mr Jeffries said, "I can't believe they
sacked me. I was just doing someone
a favour. Nobody was delayed or
inconvenienced. Whoever it was
who reported me needs to get alife."

Bribery and corruption

------------

'SACKS OF CASH'
The political bribery tria] of the
former Indian Prime Minister, PV
N arasimha Rao, started today with
evidence from an MP that he
received four million rupees
(f.70,000) in two sacks as payment
for supporting Mr Rao in a vote in
Parliament. He did not accuse Mr
Rao directly. but named other
ministers in l\1r Rao's govemment
who had qrganised the deai.

Taboos and lssues

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Discussion

Language

Read !he articles again and decide which answer

is bes!:

Use !he 8 nouns from !he firs! exercise in these

sen!ences:

l. In rhe Russian footballleague you can bribe:

l. Her cat's disappeared. She's offering a ..... .

ro the person who finds ir.
2. Could you do me a ...... ? I'd like sorne help

a. referees.
b. referees and other teams.
2 The man reponed the bus driver because
a. he missed his stop.
b. he just thought it shouldn't happen.
3. The Indian MP received rhe money from
a. colleagues of Mr Rao.
b. Mr Rao himself
Answer these questions in groups:

l. Do yo u rhink a crime has been committed in

any of the three anides?

2. Can yo u imagine any of these things happening
in your country?
3. If yo u were a passenger on the bus, would yo u
ha ve reponed the driver or laughed and done
nothing?

moving this piano.

3. He used his ...... ro make sur e that his
daughrer got into university.
4. The pay is poor but they offer good ..... .
- a company car and free health care.
5. The food was nothing special and the service
was a wful, so 1 didn't lea ve a . . . . . . .
6.1 ha ve a feeling they want us to enjoy their
...... and then give them the contraer.
7. Three more politicians have been accused of
taking ..... : from businessmen in return for
political influence.
8. 1 hope yo u will accept this ...... from all of
us for your excellent service over the years.

Discussion
Work in groups. What would you do in these situations? Choose a response or suggest an alternative.

1. A poli ce officer stops you for speeding. She asks to see your driving !icen ce. Would yo u ...
a. just give her your driving licence?
b. put some money in your driving licence and give it to her?
2. At the end of your driving test the examiner tells you that you have failed. Would you ...
a. just feel disappointed and get out of the car?
b. get out your wallet and ask how much it would cost to pass?
3. Your company is trying to win an important and lucrative government contraer. The minister in
charge tells you that the contraer is almost certainly yours and that he and his wife love spending
their holidays in the Pacific. Would you ...
a. do nothing and wait for a decision on who gets the contract?
b. organise a free two-week holiday in Fiji for the minister and his wife?
4. Your daughter wants ro go ro university but she did not pass the entran ce exam. Would yo u ...
a. as k the admissions officer how much it wou/d cost to get her in?
b. tell your daughter to retake the exam and stop going out every night?
5. You are a witness in a serious criminal case. A friend of the defendant offers you a large sum of
money to change your evidence. Would yo u ...
a. refuse to cooperate and then te/1 the po/ice what had happened?
b. take the money and do what he asked?
6. Yo u arrive at your favourite restaurant ro find it is fully booked. Would you ...

a. give the head waiter t1 O andas k him to find yo u a table?

b. just go somewhere else?
7. A colleague at work who yo u are not attracted ro offers to take yo u to your favourite opera
(or similar) after dinner at an expensive restaurant - all expenses paid. Would yo u ...
a. feel tempted but say no?
b. pretend suddenly to like the person and say yes?
Do yo u know anyone who has been involved in a bribery situation like one of these?
Spend two minutes deciding how you can bribe your teacher to make your life easier!
Taboos and /ssues

Bribery and corrupton

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Down
1. What children get at
Halloween.
2. Flying animal found in
haunted houses.
3. The kind of bullet you need
to kill a werewolf.
4. A place with many
tombstones.
5. Where you get goose
bumps.
6. The weather around
haunted houses.
8. The walking corpse.
9. The color of blood.

10. Dracula.
13. You can hear these in the
hallways of a haunted house
at night.
15. Little animals with long
tails.
17. This wears a patch and
has a sword.
19. This wears bright colorful
clothing.
20. A big black pot that
witches use to make potions.
23. The kind of light that
vampires hate.
26. The monster __________
the stairs.

28. What vampires drink.

29. The time when
werewolves come out.
30. What kids say on
Halloween.
31. Something that haunts
houses.
36. A monster that changes
from human to wolf.
37. Makes me scared; gives
me the ___________.
42. A monster from space.
43. The opposite of good.
44. Frighten.
47. A night bird.

Across
1. These are found in the
corners and ceilings of a
haunted house.
7. A witch's pet. (5-3)
11. Bloody and gross.
12. A monster made from
bones.
14. A monster from Egypt.
16. Another word for scary.
18. She wears black clothes
and rides a broom.
21. It looks like a mouse but
much bigger.
22. What kids wear on
Halloween.
24. The creature that makes
cobwebs.
25. Have a ghost inside.
27. The Cyclops has one.
31. What you get on your
skin when you are scared.
32. These slam shut or creek
open.
33. Witches ride this.
34. Vampires hate this.
35. Another word for strange.
38. October 31st.
39. What a ghost says.
40. A big black bird.
41. A monster with stitches
on his face.
45. What children carve.
46. The month of Halloween.
48. Sharp teeth.

Advanced Whistle-blowing ESL News Lesson Plan : Warm-up

1) What was the worst thing you did as a child? Did you get caught?
2) What does it mean if someone is a rat in your language?
3) Have you ever taken a complaint to your boss or the police?
4) What does it mean to blow the whistle?

Topic: Jeffrey Wigand the Whistle-blower

Jeffrey Wigand began working as a researcher at Brown & Williamson (B&W), an American
tobacco company, in 1989. He and other scientists put forward the idea of developing a
safer cigarette that would be less likely to cause cancer. His boss, however, told him to
abandon the idea because a safer cigarette would highlight the harmful effects of other
cigarettes. Wigand bit his tongue and gave up the project. He turned his attention to
investigating the ingredients in his companys products and found harmful additives that
were poisonous and highly addictive. He also uncovered documents that showed company
executives knew the truth about these additives, despite having made public statements to
the contrary. Wigand asked to have these additives removed from their products. He
was dismissed shortly after in March 1993.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation of the tobacco industry
in 1994. They contacted Wigand, who agreed to talk with investigators. Afterwards, Wigand
says he received two death threats at his home. He claims one anonymous telephone
caller stated "Leave tobacco alone or else you'll find your kids hurt." Despite this,
Wigand testified in the criminal investigation against the industry. He also participated in a
TV interview in which he accused his former company of intentionally lying to the public and
using chemicals to boost the effects of nicotine, an addictive chemical found in cigarettes.
In response, B&W launched a smear campaign against Wigand
to undermine his credibility in the eyes of the public. They combed through Wigands
past to find lies that would make him appear untrustworthy. Their efforts were to no avail.
Wigands testimony helped forty-six American states win a lawsuit against the tobacco
industry. The industry was forced to pay $368 billion for the burden it had placed on the
countrys health care system. (303)
[Research sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Wigand, http://www.jeffreywigand.com/wallstreetjournal.php,
http://www.jeffreywigand.com/60minutes.php, http://users.cba.siu.edu/melcher/mgmt474/Melcher%20struc ture/chapter5/Chap5Whistle.htm]

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan : Comprehension Questions

1) Why did Wigands boss tell him to cancel his project to make a safer cigarette?
2) True or False: Wigand was fired for giving private documents to the media.
3) How does Wigand claim he was threatened?
4) What is a smear campaign? Who does Wigand claim started such a campaign? Why?
5) What was the result of the lawsuit?

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan : Vocabulary Matching

Match the words with their meaning as used in the news lesson.

put forward
(an idea,
etc)
bite your
tongue
contrary
dismiss

(verb)
testify
smear
(verb)
undermine
(verb)
credibility
comb
through
(verb)
no avail

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan : Connect the below idea(s) to

make a sentence.
government / uprising
put forward / proposal
bite your tongue / boss
dismiss / whistle / blow
scandal / undermine /
credibility
testify / mafia
politician / smear / reputation
comb through / newspaper
efforts / no avail

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan: Idiom Focus

1a) On the contrary

Definition:

used to state that the opposite of what sb said is true

Example:

A: Cobras are the deadliest animals on Earth.

B: On the contrary, mosquitoes cause far more human deaths than cobras.

1b) to the contrary

Definition: showing or suggesting the opposite

Example:

Regardless of what people say to the contrary, I know Alan

would never steal.

Read and complete the below sentences where necessary.

A: You spent your vacation at HOME?? It must have been terrible.

B: On the contrary, .

Although B&W had made public statements to the contrary,.

2) of/to (little/no) avail

Definition: of no use, producing no benefit. (*usually used in the negative)

Example:

Efforts by workers to fix the crack were of no avail. / They worked

to no avail.

Read and complete the below sentences where necessary.

Peters charisma was of no avail because he wasnt given a chance to speak.

The doctor tried to,but his efforts were of no avail.

I argued to no avail. My wife .

, but to no avail.

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan: Brainstorming

Why might someone NOT blow the whistle on his or her employer? Think of reasons for 1-2
minutes and then discuss your ideas with the class.

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan: Debate (Pair Work)

Background (read aloud):
You and your partner are board members of the XYZ Company. Some members of the
company believe it should adopt a whistle-blowing policy. The policy would include:
a clearly-defined procedure for reporting issues.
trained people to receive and investigate reports.
a commitment to take appropriate action.
guaranteed protection for whistleblowers against retaliation (punishment).
Roles (each student reads his/her role to himself/herself):
Student A

Your support this policy. Think of reasons why adopting this policy would be beneficial
(1-2 minutes). Start the debate when youre ready by presenting your ideas to your partner.

Student B

You are against this. Think of reasons why such a policy might harm the company
[for example, it may contribute to an environment of mistrust, it might make it hard to
fire bad employees, etc]. Your partner will begin the debate.

Whistle-blowing ESL Lesson Plan : Discussion Questions

(Write your answers in the Comments section below if you wish).
1. Is Jeffrey Wigand a hero?
2. What are some questions a person should consider before deciding to whistleblow?

3. LOYALTY: should employees be loyal to their company or the public good?

4. COMPENSATION CULTURE: do smokers have the right to sue tobacco
companies for damages?
5. WIKILEAKS: Wikileaks publishes private information, often obtained from
whistleblowers, to the public. Do you support Wikileaks?
6. What whistle-blower cases do you know of?
7. What kind of protection does your government provide for whistleblowers?
8. Do you believe the company really made death threats to Wigand?