Do you think the millions of people with HIV, TB or Malaria wish USAID (or some USAID contractors) had donated several million dollars to the president's inauguration festivities?

A former employer classified them as "facilitating payments" that are often necessary to complete a business transaction.

If you are wanting to do business in a baksheesh culture (ie., doing things that could be interpreted by others as bribery), then, not doing things that could be interpreted by others as bribery, works out to not doing business there, period.

The complication is, sometimes your head-office country local culture says "go for it", then down the line (+some years) says "you were evil".

Not saying if that's good or not, but just saying...