In 1977, the U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which criminalized business bribery of foreign public officials. Congress substantially amended the law in 1988 to include a provision requiring the President to seek international cooperation in suppressing such business bribery. After a marked lag, several multilateral anti-corruption conventions were signed. The one most closely associated with the FCPA directive is the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, negotiated under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Windsor & Getz, 1999).

The OECD Convention makes it a crime to offer, promise or give a bribe to a foreign public official in order to obtain or retain international business deals. A related text effectively ends the practice of according tax deductibility for bribe payments made to foreign officials. The Convention commits the 35 signatory countries to adopt harmonized rules to punish companies and individuals who engage in bribery transactions.

Marketers know that as people move through the stages of life, their behaviors change. The needs and purchases of young, urban singles differ dramatically from those of a middle-aged family of six. As people age, gain new family ties, take on new responsibilities and gain or lose economic standing, they develop new patterns of behavior. They are likely to be more similar to others in the same position, and different from their behaviors in earlier life stages. Being able to identify a consumer's life stage and track life stage movement over time opens the door to new marketing opportunities and triggers action.

This discussion will address how cultural events affect and influence U.S. consumers' spending habits and preferences; Understanding the dramatic differences in purchase behavior based on a household's life stage; Understanding the importance of monitoring life stage changes for predicting customer behavior and discovering new opportunities; and learning best practices about how the Personicx household-based segmentation is used to answer critical marketing questions for effectively analyzing, communicating and targeting customers and prospects.