Assignment 1 Ethical Dilemma: Assume You Are A Manager Of A
Assignment 1 Ethical Dilemmaassume You Are A Manager Of A Large Heavy
Assume you are a manager of a large heavy equipment manufacturing company. Your company currently outsources the manufacturing of a specialized piece of equipment to a firm in another country. The outsourcing has saved your organization a considerable amount of money and increased profits by 15%. A recent newspaper article revealed that this firm pays their employees only a few dollars a day and that their employees often work long hours. While your company is not the only one that uses this firm, your company was specifically named in the newspaper article.
You have been asked by your CEO to make a decision on whether or not to continue doing business with this firm. By Saturday, May 27, 2017, you are to post your answers to the following questions in paragraph form, with a minimum of words to address all points. Be sure to incorporate your weekly readings, citing your sources using proper APA format (including in-text citations and references). In making this decision, you will need to do the following:
Discuss the ethics of continuing to do business with this firm. Evaluate the economic, legal, and ethical issues involved.
Describe how a written code of ethics might impact your decision.
Describe any other factors you would consider in deciding whether to continue or discontinue doing business with this organization.
Outline the process you would follow to make your decision, state your chosen decision, and explain the decision-making style you have used.
Finally, prepare a SWOT analysis of your decision using the following table: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
Paper For Above instruction
The ethical dilemma confronting a manager in a multinational manufacturing context underscores the complexities of balancing economic benefits with ethical responsibilities. The decision to continue or cease doing business with a firm operating under questionable labor practices requires a deep understanding of the intertwined ethical, legal, and economic considerations. This paper explores these issues, considers the influence of a company’s code of ethics, outlines a decision-making process, and presents a SWOT analysis to evaluate the strategic implications of the decision.
Ethical Considerations of Continuing Business
At the core, the ethical issue revolves around the company’s responsibility to uphold human rights and ensure fair labor practices. Continuing to work with a firm that exploits its workers by paying meager wages and forcing long working hours raises serious questions about complicity in unethical practices. According to the principles outlined by Singer (2011), corporations have an ethical obligation to avoid supporting exploitative labor conditions, especially when such conditions are publicly exposed. Maintaining business relations with such a firm can be seen as endorsing or enabling egregious worker exploitation, thereby damaging the moral integrity of the company.
Economic, Legal, and Ethical Issues
Economically, outsourcing to lower-cost countries provides significant savings, which has increased profits by 15%, benefiting shareholders and employees through potentially lower prices and increased competitiveness. Legally, if the company explicitly or implicitly condones unfair labor practices, it risks violating international labor laws and regulations such as those enforced by the International Labour Organization (ILO) or national legislation regulating ethical supply chains. Ethically, supporting a firm that disregards worker rights conflicts with principles of social responsibility and corporate citizenship. Ethical frameworks like Kantian ethics emphasize acting according to moral duties, which include respecting human dignity, as opposed to purely profit-driven motives (Crane et al., 2014).
Impact of a Written Code of Ethics
Having a comprehensive, well-communicated code of ethics would significantly influence the decision. Such a code typically emphasizes respect for human rights, fair labor practices, and social responsibility. If the company’s code explicitly condemns exploitative labor, this would serve as a moral compass, guiding the company to reconsider its association with unethical suppliers. It also enhances accountability and creates organizational pressure to align business practices with ethical standards (Lozano & Huisingh, 2011). Consequently, adherence to this code of ethics would likely motivate the company to scrutinize its supply chain and advocate for humane labor conditions.
Additional Factors in the Decision-Making Process
Beyond ethical considerations, other factors influence the decision, such as brand reputation, stakeholder trust, long-term sustainability, and potential legal repercussions. Public exposure of unethical practices could lead to consumer boycotts, negative publicity, and loss of reputation, which could outweigh short-term profits. Moreover, engaging with unethical suppliers could impair employee morale and violate corporate social responsibility commitments. The global shift toward ethical sourcing, driven by consumer awareness and activist groups, further necessitates aligning business practices with societal expectations (Kapstein, 2017).
Decision-Making Process and Style
The process I would follow involves a structured ethical decision-making framework, including identifying the stakeholders, analyzing the consequences, evaluating the available options against ethical standards, and consulting with legal and ethical advisors. I would prioritize transparency, stakeholder input, and adherence to values embedded in the company’s code of ethics. After evaluating these factors, I would decide to discontinue business with the unethical supplier, advocating for developing a more responsible supply chain. I employ a principled, or deontological, decision-making style, focusing on moral duties and universal principles rather than solely consequentialist outcomes (Rest, 1986).
SWOT Analysis of the Decision
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Enhances corporate reputation and ethical integrity | Potential short-term cost increase and supply chain disruption |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| Aligns with growing consumer demand for responsible sourcing | Potential difficulty in finding alternative suppliers quickly |
References
- Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2014). Business Ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
- Kapstein, E. B. (2017). Ethical Supply Chain Management. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(2), 319-330.
- Lozano, R., & Huisingh, D. (2011). Framing variables for teaching and learning in sustainability courses: A Delphi study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(3), 199-209.
- Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. Praeger Publishers.
- Singer, P. (2011). Practical ethics. Cambridge University Press.