单选题
Students taking business courses are sometimes a little surprised to find that lectures on business ethics have been included in their syllabuses of study. They often do not realize that, later in their careers, they may be tempted to bend their principles to get what they want; perhaps also they are not fully aware that bribery in various forms is on the increase in many countries. In dealing with the topic of business ethics, some lecturers ask students how they would act in the following situation; suppose you were head of a major soft-drinks company and you want to break into a certain overseas market where the growth potential for your company is likely to be very great indeed. During negotiations with government officials of this country, the Minister of Trade makes it clear to you that if you offer him a substantial bribe, you will find it much easier to get an import license for your goods, and you are also likely to avoid" bureaucratic delays", as he puts it. Now, the question is: do you pay up or stand by your principles? It is easy to talk about having high moral standards but, in practice, what would one really do in such a situation? Some time ago the British car manufacturer, British Leyland, was accused of operating a "slush fund", and of questionable practices such as paying agents and purchasers with padded commission, offering additional discounts and making payments to numbered bank accounts in Switzerland. The company rejected these allegations and they were later withdrawn. Nevertheless, at this time, there were people in the motor industry in Britain who were prepared to say in private: "Look, we' re in a wheeling-dealing business. Every year we' re selling more than ￡1 000 million worth of cars abroad. If we spend a few million greasing the palms of some of the buyers, who's hurt? If we didn't do it, someone else would." It is difficult to resist the impression that bribery and other questionable payments are on the increase. Indeed, they seem to have become a fact of commercial life. To take just one example, the Chrisler Corporation, third largest of the U. S. motor manufacturers, disclosed that it made questionable payments of more than $ 2.5 million. By making this revelation, it joined more than 300 U. S. companies that had admitted to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they had made dubious payments.
单选题
The lectures on business ethics surprised students because______.