Manual for Azerbaijan companies Rena Safaralieva

NOTES TO CASE STUDIES  FOR  CHAPTER VIII. 

 INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS, ETIQUETTE AND PROTOCOL 

 

1. Option (a) is acceptable, but not very useful. It is quite probable that in the country of your 

destination preference is given to local etiquette, rather than international norms. Option (b) is fine, if 

you have a strong memory and can memorize all required information in a couple of days. Option (c) 

is seen as the most appropriate, as organizers will inform of every event in advance. Option (d) is the 

least desirable.  

 

2. Under these circumstances option (a) is the least recommended, while option (b) seems to be  the 

most optimal. Practice shows that informal situations can ease tension and help to more easily resolve 

the most of difficult problems. Of course, option (c) is quite appropriate, provided that your behavior 

is not viewed as a retreat from your position and you have enough patience to overcome resistance of 

the opposite party. Option (d) is quite agreeable, if you are certain of success of the new players. 

 

 

3. Except for (d) (which is rude and tactless), all other options are viable.  

 

4. The best option here is (а). We live in a secular world and organizers might be unaware of your 

religious beliefs. However, if guests come from Moslem countries, organizers, as a rule, would never 

offer pork. Option (b) is to be avoided, as this is lying and organizers may change their attitude 

towards Tural, if they learn of his insincerity. Options (с) and (d) are impolite and may antagonize his 

partners.  

 

NOTES TO  CASE STUDIES  FOR CHAPTER IX. CORRUPTION AND BUSINESS  

 

1. It is not recommended to involve a client in your problems. Only a couple of years ago, it was 

impossible to take a loan without a “kickback”, especially from a state bank. There was little use in 

informing management of the bank, who participated in this kind of deals through their subordinates. It is 

good to note that for a number of reasons this practice is on the decline. Some of these reasons include: 

strengthening of private banks, more balanced policy of the Azerbaijan National Bank, availability of 

cheap credits on favorable terms provided by international organizations, scarcity of reliable local 

companies, who would make credible customers, in a word, competition.  This has led to a significant 

change of the situation. Today, it is quite feasible to inform management of the bank or, even better, to go 

to another bank.  

 

2. Here we see quite an interesting case, testifying to the deep ingraining of corruption into our mentality. 

People do not believe that they will receive decent service unless they offer a bribe. It is recommend to 

strictly prohibit all doctors from manipulating numbers under the threat of losing a job. Additionally, it is 

advised to place a price list with fixed prices in the lobby. Introduction of a common, more expensive 

tariff for all doctors and services might be very convenient for hospital’s records keeping, but may  be 

unacceptable for patients.  In any case, this organization lacks a well perceived system of internal 

procedures, while corruption flourishes in absence of a good management system.  It may also be  

recommended to introduce a more organized system of patients’ record keeping with the help of coupons. 

For example, patients pay at the cashier’s desk and receive a detachable coupon, which they surrender to 

a doctor. Accordingly, a doctor is paid on the basis of coupons collected.  

 

3. Even if from a point of view of an average Azeri   no cash change hands, and hence there is no 

corruption, we see two forms of corruption here: abuse of office position for personal gain and nepotism, 

i.e., the two forms, most commonly found in the West. No respectful firm will agree to option (a), in 

addition, you might damage your  own reputation with the firm. You can resort to option (c) and option 

(b), in principle, is not overly reproachable, if you do not suggest a deal. The majority of Azerbaijan 

people firmly believe that it is impossible to find a job with a foreign company without protection or a 

bribe, which is explained, first if all, by non-transparent procedures of hiring. For example, the majority 

of foreign companies do not register job applications, nor do they acknowledge acceptance or refusal of 

applications,  which feeds all kinds of rumors.  

 

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4. Even if option (a) is not quite ethical, it is not illegal, while option (b) is more ethical, but not 

economical. Options to try to come to “terms” with a tax official and “look for protection” are the least 

reliable, as it is unknown, how long these people will be able to act as “patrons” to you, to say nothing of 

the cost. In addition, these options are neither ethical nor legitimate.  

 

5. No doubt, this is corruption. The best way is to inform your management and, probably, they will 

decide to reject this supplier in future. In principle, there is nothing illegal in refusing and keeping this 

information to yourself. A majority of codes encourage, but do not force employees to report corruption 

related offers. To agree is not only illegal, but very dangerous. To pay your commission fee, the supplier 

will have to increase its prices, which your management will sooner or later notice. To avoid such 

situations, companies normally announce a tender and make a decision on the basis of minimum three 

bidders. Such tenders are organized periodically, normally once a year.  

 

6. We observe a classic case of corruption here – abuse of office information for personal gain. This 

information belongs to the client company, who paid for the job. By releasing this information and 

concluding the deal, you reach into pockets of the oil company, who will have to redeem the land from 

you at a higher price. A conscientious company shall inform its employees and contractors of 

confidentiality of information and relevant sanctions for its disclosure.  

 

 

NOTES TO CASE STUDIES  FOR CHAPTER X.  

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, FREE PROFESSIONS AND CORPORATE CULTURE  

 

1. Under these circumstances the behavior of the nurse hardly qualifies as ethical. Firstly, she should have 

trusted her doctor, instead of double checking his advice with another specialist, who can not pass a 

proper judgment without due analyses at hand. Secondly, it is not ethical to ask specialists for an informal 

and free of charge consultation. Many professionals, especially doctors and lawyers, complain of 

potential patients and clients, who try to receive free of charge consultations, especially in an informal 

setting, for example, at a party. It is unethical for a doctor to examine somebody else’s patient, and  to 

entice a customer. As for financial considerations, the nurse should have seen more than one doctor, made 

her decision, and then made appropriate arrangements for her operation fixed.  

 

2. Western business ethics suggest that to let a woman with a child out of her turn means to violate the 

principle of fair treatment of customers. However, from the point of view of Azerbaijan  mentality, the 

baby is, most probably, whimpering because it is hungry or cold and the queue will, most likely, approve 

of the decision to have her served out of turn. The same refers to the second case. However, the airport 

staff may not offer a courtesy  for security reasons.    

 

3. The slogans “we know what you need” and “we know better what you need” are obviously 

inappropriate.  

 

4. We would recommend to give up options (b) Navuhodonosor, (d) RSTJ- production, (f) 

Azgaspromkonversiya, because these names are not euphonic, i.e., they are not pleasing to an ear. Option 

(a) Bilgeiz

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; sound better, even if the word is familiar to educated people only. However, it is little 

associated with business. Option (e) Rusalka is a direct transliteration from a Russian word for 

“mermaid” and hence, not very appropriate. Option (c) Sanara is fine from phonetic point of view.  

 

5. The management of the  firm did not act ethically with respect to the young women. Firstly, they did 

not take Azerbaijan  mentality into account, namely, that young women are normally not allowed to stay 

overnight outside of their homes. Management should have inquired, if everybody could participate 

before organizing the trip. Secondly, it is not fair to discriminate against employees; in this case, married 

employees were placed in a more favorable position than single staff members. If the firm did not wish to 

accommodate the two elderly mothers, management should have announced in advance that the trip is 

intended for staff members and their immediate family, namely, spouses and children. In any case, this 

unpleasant situation took place because the firm was not considerate of needs of their employees.  

                                                 

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 This is how many people in the East refer to  the biblical Queen of Sheba.  

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