Ethics in this point of time is very important, mostly in business organizations. As globalization in earth is a real and growing matter, mainly organizations need to be aware and have the knowledge of the ethical values. People have the right to be well treated meaning they should get well paid (get the minimum wedge), be over the minimum age working age allowance, essentially this two aspects are one of the most important ones. Companies need to be strong enough to overcome the temptation of the countries that offer this kind of unethical working ethics, a lot of times people don’t realize immoral behavior, they just do it a lot of times because of the economical problems the country has.
What is ethics? Ethics is the moral principals by witch people conduct themselves personally socially and professionally. “The perceived conflict between the traditional corporate objective of profit maximization and the overall desire for increased social welfare.” Although ethically responsible business practices are generally desired, opinions about what these practices are and how they should be encouraged are diverse, but the complexity of the current business environment complicates the development and implementation of resolutions to ethical issues towards the industry, and this is what is happening with Nike.
Nike has been one of the biggest sport companies in the whole world, this makes this company really powerful, and they have been gaining more power over the years. But this doesn’t mean that this company is perfect, like everyone and everything in the world, Nike has a lack of commitment with some really important ethical issues like the social or children responsibilities. Nike has created a code of business co...
... middle of paper ...
...out and be fired.” (Braddock, 2011)
In the US television CBC stated that in 1993 in Vietnam employees experienced physical and sexual abuse besides the nonexistence compromise with the minimum wedge salaries and the working timetables. Also they affirmed that the workers where physically mistreated like being hit on the head and other sourts of punishments.
“One worker at the Taiwanese-operated Pou Chen plant in Sukabumi said she was kicked by a supervisor last year after making a mistake while cutting rubber for soles. 'We're powerless,' said the woman, who like several others interviewed spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.
'Our only choice is to stay and suffer, or speak out and be fired.' The 10,000 mostly female workers at the Taiwanese-operated Pou Chen plant make around 50 cents an hour.” (Reporter, 2011)
The articles by Meika Loe and Charlie LeDuff both exhibit how working conditions for women and minorities post-Industrial Revolution United States has not changed. Though some of what was happening at Bazooms was not the same as the slaughterhouse, both had do deal with verbal abuse, considered to be the lowest common denominator in the workplace, and fearing for your job. In today’s society, such affairs still happen within the workplace. People are viewed based on their gender or race and not their actual work ethic. Those who are illegal aliens get exploited for their status and get scrutinized for the wages being lowered since, they have little to no power cannot challenge authority. The women at Bazooms are degraded not only with the managers, but also the customers; however they can challenge authority.
They’re a lot of cattle anyway.” This reflects negatively on the neglect and passivity of factory owners and inspectors because of their unwillingness to protect the safety and wellbeing of factory owners.Within the same document, it Mr. H.F.J Porter mentioned that “There are only two or three factories in the city where fire drills are in use. In some of them where I have installed the system myself, the owners have discontinued it.” This is yet again another example of how neglectful factory regulators can be to employees and that they pay little attention to their health just to earn money in an easier but cruel way. Employees on the other hand, form unions to rebel against poor conditions, low pay, and long work hours. The employees also went on strike. They knew that they needed to prevent themselves and other employees from falling into the trap of harsh conditions of factories. The owners eventually raised their pay and shortened hours, but did not improve the working conditions of the
Nifong, Christina. 'No Sweat' Pact to Cut Garment Worker Abuse. The Christian Science Monitor Online. HTML. Internet. 14 April 1997.
abuse that occurs all too often in the fields, the film makes a point of saying that the employer at
Nike has been under a great deal of pressure to correct the misdoings that have been done regarding production facilities in the East. As Nike is responsible for these plants, their reputation has been tainted with increasing public debate about ethical matters. While Nike still promotes itself as one of the industry leaders in corporate social responsibility, workers in Asia are still forced to work excessively long hours in substandard environments and are not paid enough to meet the basic needs for themselves or their families. They are faced to a life of poverty and are unfortunate subjects to harassment and violent threats if they make any attempt to form unions or tell journalists about labour abuses in their factories. Phil Knight’s speech regarding Nike’s steps to improving human rights in Asian countries was a step in the right direction for Nike, but it would have been much more effective had Nike fully followed through with these initiatives.
In many parts of the world, labor violations are still present. Workers are forced to work in dangerous and unsafe places under harsh conditions. They work for long hours, yet receive little pay. Employees are not guaranteed protection or rights. Many
The many steps to stay a competitive industry began with lowering the manufacturing costs from their less developed Third World Countries because their labor cost was much lower. This gave plentiful opportunity for Nike to mass-produce all of its products. In these countries like Indonesia, China, and Vietnam it’s enormously difficult to “keep track of and regulate the working conditions and wages of factories” Ferrell, Fraedrick, J. & Ferrell (2013) Nike was evaluated on their child labor, harassment issues, poor work environment, and abuse practices. Nike in an effort to fight against the presumed allegations launched a campaign towards child labor and employee
There were many legal, cultural, and ethical challenges that Nike faced when confronted with the sweatshop case. Nike a well known global corporation that was established in 1972 by former University of Oregon track star Phil Knight. Nike is one of the leading marketers of athletic shoes and apparel in the world. The company has $10 billion in annual revenues and sells its products in over 140 countries. Nike is not affiliated with any of its own manufacturing. The company designs and markets its own products but they contract out their manufacturing to a global network of 600 factories located around the world. These manufacturers employ over 550,000 people world wide. The company has been ridiculed for more than a decade with repeated and unrelenting allegations that its...
In a 1996 congressional testimony, National Labor Committee executive, Charles Kernaghan, led an expose on Kathie Lee Gifford when he revealed “that child laborers in Honduras were making the Gifford clothing line sold at Wal-Mart” (Duke). This realization caused Gifford to dissolve into tears and, over time, use her brand in the fight against corporate practices. For a while, these protestors were able to make a difference as many corporations were began to specify which companies were making their clothes, adopted codes of conduct, and “relied on monitors who visited factories once every three months and conducted random inspections” (Colliver). However, these socially conscious changes aren’t structured “to make factories take better care of their workers. They’re designed to make factories look like they are” (Hobbes). In reality, the factory inspections and audits are essentially, as Hobbes describes it, a “paperwork exercise”, as inspectors usually spend two days maximum at each factory, mostly checking time sheets for shift lengths, birth certificates for child labor, and pay stubs for wages. In addition to this, most manufacturers, particularly those in China and Southeast Asia, are experts in bypassing regulations “by keeping multiple sets of books, hiding cramped
Two of the biggest have been with the working conditions at Foxconn in Wuhan, China and with the FBI over the San Bernardino shooting. An article by Paul Hink for Leaders We Deserve, described that Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics, had 150 employees threaten to commit suicide (Hink). Thankfully, none of them did; however, there have been over 18 suicide attempts with 14 dying. The reasons for this are because of working up to 16 hours a day with low wages and inhuman treatment (Hink). They have even gone to the extent to put layers of netting around the building to prevent suicides. Facing Finance, an organization that warns investors not to invest in companies that violate human rights, also provides info on the conditions in Foxconn. Most days, they work 11-13 hours in an environment that puts their health and safety in danger. They work so many hours that the employees often sleep on the job and they are only allowed to visit family once a year. They live in crowded military-style housing and aren’t paid for working overtime (Facing Finance). Since Apple’s products are produced here, they can solve this problem by providing the organization money to eliminate this horrendous lifestyle that half a million people live through every
Further investigations revealed that Foxconn had been guilty of unsafe and unfair working environments long before the incidents, which included the employment of extended working hours, discrimination, and military management techniques (Xu & Li, 2013). Due to Foxconn’s sole focus on maintaining businesses relationships by fulfilling Apple’s demand of technical products, their subsequent mistreatment of employees was exacerbated and generated 80-100 hours of forced overtime (Xu & Li, 2013). However, in an attempt to combat the negative publicity, each firm denied responsibility to the incidents, which ultimately added fuel to the media fire (Xu & Li, 2013). Since then, each firm has enacted superior regulations designed to maintain efficiency while recognizing limitations on labor hours and increased spending on compliance audits (Chandler & Werther, 2014). Yet, as Foxconn continues to sustain their global leadership and Apple’s profits remain unaffected, the disadvantages associated with the incidents at Foxconn have not transcended the outcomes. From a profit standpoint, the increase in spending and subsequent alterations of labor methods serve as the biggest disadvantage to each company’s
Many things happen in the work force that makes the workers and even others that read this story think twice about how safe the job they do really is. In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza they expresses how hard it was for workers trying to make a living. What makes this situation even worse is the fact that the people working in those factories are working for survival. One main problem in those factories is that “Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week (Duhigg)” for more than 70 hours a week “and live in crowded dorms (Duhigg).” The work is so demanding that some of these people aren’t even able to go home and share their earning with their family. Some people are trying to say that these industries are paying more however after a while a person have to ask themselves at what cost. Giving up seeing their family for days, weeks, and even months at time for a wage that is not national average makes a person wonder at times...
The working conditions are horrible and there is a lot of violence present in the workforce. Often times, industrialists and workers will fight in order to gain control. Many of America’s first larg...
Foxconn is running an exporting business that is based in China but serves developed nations such as the United States. Foxconn is facing unique challenges, and they have to keep a good public image, they will risk losing Apple’s and other American business contracts if they don’t continue to improve the working conditions for the employees. Foxconn will need mangers that have the “courage to take a stand” to improve environmental and working conditions, “acts with integrity” will tell the truth when something is unsafe, “seeks feedback” and “uses feedback” in order to get a better understanding of how the employees needs could be better met, and be “culturally adventurous” if Foxconn is looking to open more plants in other countries to try and keep their costs down. (Bateman & Snell, 2015
Ethics is simply doing the right thing. In the business situation ethics are the moral concept of a firm getting through it organizational duties ethically.