Article Views:
85
Ezine ready page
Ezine ready page
Posted on January 17, 2008 by Murad Ali | Posted under Business
Child Labor and Corporate Image
|
These American companies must deal with the ethical issues revolving around child labor even though the prices of their suppliers appear to be just about right. For example, child labor is a practice used in India and even though such actions would be considered unethical in the U.S. only public awareness has helped companies take action (Tripathi, 2007). It is through public awareness and consumer demand that encourages companies to be mindful of international rights afforded to most human beings. For example, when public awareness raised that Levi or Nike were using suppliers that engaged in child labor it was the American public that made it an issue. Once the issue reached the newspapers and could be damaging to the organizations reputation then the companies took action. Both the company Gap Kids (GapKid's Kid, 2007) and Coke (Coke's CSR, 2007) have been accused of using Child labor in their product lines through their suppliers. The issues of child labor appear to be widespread with countries like Nepal having 2.6 million children engaging in child labor both for local companies as well as international ones (Xinhua: 2.6 Million, 2007). However, once these companies get caught they seem to implement new ethical standards that help to avoid such issues in the future. The new ethical model and image appears to take precedence. For example, once Coke was accused of using child labor the Company decided to become the world's leader in corporate responsible behavior (Coke's CSR, 2007). Leaders who will be working in a global environment and with international organizations that deal with suppliers from different countries may be faced with new and interesting ethical challenges when it comes to child labor and values that are pertinent within the U.S. The consumers and the organizations public image help dictate whether or not the organization will act ethically but in many cases this is not a concern until the information becomes public. Outsourcing the American workers job to a third world nation appears to be a growing trend. The cost of labor is cheaper, few medical benefits are provided and government standards are lax. However, the cheaper cost comes with a price tag of damaged corporate image and potentially immoral and unethical business practices. Leaders will need to balance costs and ethical standards to be successful. Coke's CSR focus: better late then never (2007). Marketing Week, 30 (47). Gapkids' kid labor. (2007). Current Events, 107 (9). Tripathi, S. (2007). New Statesman, 137 (4871). Xinhua: 2.6 million children engaged in child labor in Nepal (2007). World New Connection. Retrieved 01/07/2007 from Ebscohost database. About The Author: Murad Ali is a three time published author, a business professor, a human resource manager and helps companies get ahead by drawing more visitors. (Author Exposure and Website Customers) www.article-agent.org (Free author submission and website content) www.article-agent.net (Business articles) www.themodernbusinessworld.com (Dating articles) www.datingdesires.blogspot.com |
Tags: BUSINESS, CHILD LABOR, CORPORATE LIABILITY, ETHICS, INTERNATIONAL ETHICS
