Commitment

Control Theory says that the greater a person’s commitment to a legitimate opportunity, the greater the advantages of conformity. This is basically a person’s ability to weight the costs of deviant behavior. (Orcutt) One of the major questions in the case of India, however, is whether or not bribery can be part of a legitimate opportunity. In most of the Western world, bribery would not be seen as legitimate, but since it is so overwhelmingly prevalent and an essential part of the system in India, to conform would be to bribe while to deviate would be not to do so. (Bribery Section)

Michael, being the head of a successful company, looked at bribery as a legitimate function of everyday business. (Interview 8:01) For his company, Michael once had Jean bribe an official so that they would be allowed to have extra electricity. (Interview 38:40) In another incident, Michael described how some of his workers formed a union and protested but he was able to bribe the head of the movement with a retirement plan in order to end the squabble. (Interview 8:01) Both of these are examples of how Michael conformed in order to fulfill his commitment to a legitimate opportunity, in this case his business and in turn his family.   

In one instance, however, Michael did not hold true to his commitment to the bribery system. In order to make essential purchases for his company, Michael had needed foreign currency, but the Indian government forbids foreign currency to be transported into or out of the country except in very small quantities. He was caught with the illegal currency and thrown into jail for treasonous activity. The authorities holding him asked for a $20,000 bribe in order to be released, and Michael agreed. After his release he didn’t pay the bribe and instead fled while the cops raided his house and factories. Eventually he was sent to jail again and in the end was forced to pay a substantially higher sum for his release. In this incident, because Michael deviated from his normal commitments to the bribery system, that system worked against him and inevitably led to greater consequences.