The issue of child slavery within the chocolate industry is a complex issue to solve for corporations within this market sector. Child slavery is heavily embedded into the working culture in cocoa farming, and as a manager, it is important to recognise the problem and do all possible to abolish such activity. As a manager overseeing these issues, it is key to be a leader and enact objectives to inspire other corporations to stand against child slavery in the chocolate industry.
Since corporations tend to be physically disconnected from farmers, it is easy to ignore the thought of children being sold as slaves to farms. However, refusing to recognise issues, corporations allow the violation of human rights of these children to continue. Child slavery violates articles 4, 5 and 23 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Un.org, 2014)(Appendix A). It is the ethical duty of a corporation to rise against child labour in Africa because the exploitation occurs for the benefit of Western consumers. Philosopher, Immanuel Kant, proposes a moral test consisting of three maxims, and when these maxims are applied to child labour, it is understood that the exploitation of children is deemed unethical (Crane and Matten, 2010, p. 105, 107)(Appendix B). As a manager, comprehending the moral intensity of the situation will aid in developing a strong extended view of corporate citizenship or the acknowledgement of the “extended political role of [a] corporation in society” (Crane and Matten, 2010, p. 75). Large chocolate manufacturers have power, which could be harnessed in creating positive socio-economical changes in developing countries. Management must use their corporate citizenship and act as leaders to inspire other corporatio...
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...porations must follow-suit in hopes for socio-economic change.
Works Cited
Antislavery.org. 2014. Anti-Slavery - chocolate and slavery Q&A. [online] Available at: http://www.antislavery.org/english/campaigns/cocoa_traders/ chocolate_and_slavery_qa.aspx [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].
Crane, A. and Matten, D. 2010. Business ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Interpol.int. 2014. Forced child labour / Operations / Trafficking in human beings / Crime areas / Internet / Home - INTERPOL. [online] Available at: http:// www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Trafficking-in-human-beings/Operations/ Forced-child-labour [Accessed: 20 Mar 2014].
The Dark Side of Chocolate. 2010. [video] Denmark: Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano.
Un.org. 2014. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [online] Available at: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].
Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the production of this popular sweet benefits. Today, over 70 percent of the world’s chocolate is exported from Africa (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 10). While chocolate industry flourishes under international demand, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire in particular illustrates dependency theory and highlights the need for the promotion of Fair Trade. Chocolate has had a considerable impact on the country’s economic structure and labor practices.
In the book Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off, is found a passage on a boy’s account of being sold into slavery. At only the age of fourteen, he went looking for an opportunity to make some money. After being deceived by a child trafficker, and brought by night through the jungle, the author goes on to say, “…a stranger came for him. Money changed hands between the man who had taken him from the bus station and the stranger. The transaction completed, Malik and the other boy were told to leave with the individual. …for the next several years… Malik slaved on a cocoa plantation” (125). This is just one of many accounts that occur daily. To best understand this problem, which is very prominent in Cote d’Ivoire, a region that supplies about half of the world’s cocoa, the economy and those that influence it must be taken into consideration. Several issues must be addressed in order for cocoa farmers to receive more pay for their crop, which in turn will reduce slavery.
These unlivable wages have led large portions of countries such as Ghana and Cote d'Iviore to become extremely impoverished, a consequence unjust considering the strenuous and dangerous work going into the growth of cocoa beans, which involves climbing trees, cutting the cocoa pods off with machetes, letting the beans ferment by covering them with banana leaves, and loading them into bags and carrying the one-hundred pound bags on their backs to be sold. However, despite the already outrageous working conditions of cocoa farmers, Hershey and other chocolate companies have a far darker secret, and it isn't "Special Dark."
The children involved with the Hershey Chocolate Company face horrible hard labor. Children chosen to work for Hershey are stolen or purchased from their parents and then sent to the Ivory Coast. Most will never see their families again. In an investigative report by the BBC, they found out that hundreds of thousands of children sold by their parents, sometimes believing that their son or daughter will have a chance for a better life. Most of these children in between the ages of 11 to 16. They work for 80 to 100 and a great quantity of them do not paid. The children wor...
When British-Dutch conglomerate, Unilever, bought Ben & Jerry’s (an American based ice cream manufacturer) in 2001, fear struck the business community and the Unilever acquisition became the Ben and Jerry’s sellout – the situation called the future for the ice cream company’s social justice values and grassroots business practices into question. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield built their ice cream company, which started out as a simple ice cream shop in an old gas station, upon being “…fair to its employees, easy on the environment, and kind to its cows. The company pioneers the pursuit of business with a double bottom line—profits and people—that Cohen and Greenfield called the ‘double dip’ ” (Page and Katz 39). Essentially, the business did
There has been major controversy with multinational corporations employing foreign workers at very low wages for punishing hours. Working in excruciating conditions in underdeveloped countries only to manufacture export goods for Western consumers is usually the only option for foreign workers attempting to support themselves and or their family. In this essay, I will argue that any multinational corporation that is operating in a developing country must pay their employee’s not only a living wage but also provide them with safe working conditions. Exploiting foreign workers wages and having them operate in poor conditions will shine a negative light on these multinational corporations, which will damage their reputation. Multinational corporations can be viewed as ethically and morally just in some instances by adding a few more cents to the employee’s wage to obtain a living wage and further, providing the workers with a safe and healthy work environment.
Ecuador is the biggest fine or flavor cocoa exporter of the world and being the chocolate a billionaire industry worldwide we would imagine that cocoa farmers enjoy great benefits from this industry. But in fact, when the production chain of cocoa and chocolate is analyzed we can find large differences in the working conditions of the farmers in producing countries like Ecuador and those of the workers in countries where the manufacturing industries are located. Still in the 21st century, in the producing countries we can find cases of labor exploitation of children, and sometimes serious violations of human rights and strong impacts on their health and the environment. Meanwhile in the developed countries, where the manufactures are located, the transnational corporations proclaim their ethical production codes, respect for labor and human rights and environmental protection.
This film was very fascinating and I was intrigued by the progression of the labor history pertaining to immigrants in the United States. A large chunk of this documentary was dedicated to the various labor organizations, unions, and strikes throughout the early 1990’s, however, what struck me most, was fairly early on in the film (about 10 minutes) pertaining to child labor. There was a statistic that over 2 million kids were employed, but over 6 million adults were unemployed. A voiceover suggested that so many grown-ups were in this state because why would someone “hire an adult for $1, when you could hire a kid for a dime” (Mayer, 1964).
The United States Congress should pass the proposed Child Labor Prevention Act to help stop the exploitation of children by industrial companies. The United States must acknowledge child labor as a violation of fundamental human rights because it severely damages the health of children, places children in abusive situations, and impedes the social and cultural progress o...
Ecuador is the biggest fine or flavor cocoa exporter of the world. Since chocolate is a billion dollar industry, one would think cocoa farmers would be benefit fairly. However, when the production chain is analyzed, one can find large differences between the working conditions of cocoa farmers and the chocolate factory employees. Still in the 21stcentury there exists a large amount of child labor in cocoa producing countries. Meanwhile in the chocolate factories (which are mainly located in developed countries), the transnational corporations boast about their compromise with ethics, particularly human rights and environmental protection.
This essay will discuss selected core global issues related to the livestock and agricultural businesses, focusing on, when not run ethically and sustainably, their harm to the environment, their relation to global water scarcity, the destabilization of communities through child labor and the inhumane treatment of animals and this is just to name a few. It will then go on to discuss ways in which these companies can behave ethically and that it is achievable through sustainable and ethical practices when companies do not think solely about profit.
Shah, A. (2006, May 28). Corporations and Worker's Rights. - Global Issues. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/57/corporations-and-workers-rights
Child slavery is an immense problem in today's world. According to the International Labor Organization 5.5 million children are victims of child slavery. 5.5 million children are being forced to work in horrible conditions that can cause serious health problems. 5.5 million children can't have an education. 5.5_ million children are being locked in small rooms without any social activities that children need. Child slavery is destroying are youth and affecting their mental health, physical health and causing children to go without an education. It most be stopped!
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