...For Better or for Worst Sarah Stillman addresses the sweatshop debate from a primarily utilitarian standpoint. This standpoint doesn’t consider multiple important factors and is not an indication of how people actually act. In my opinion, Stillman’s stance reveals a failure to address the globalized nature of the sweatshop phenomenon with regards to the ease with which corporations are capable of moving their operations to other countries. On the other hand, she does bring up important ethical concerns that should be addressed. In her 2005 essay Made by Us: Young Women, Sweatshops, and the Ethics of Globalization, author Sarah Stillman provides the reader with a narrative of her experiences interacting with young women employed in Latin American sweatshops. She indicates that she believes that globalization – a process marked by the growing interconnectedness of global systems – has been lead to a proliferation of sweatshop factories in the third world and expresses concern that young women are “increasingly bearing the burdens of globalization while reaping relatively few of its tremendous rewards" . Although it is not explicitly stated in her essay, Stillman seems to espouse a primarily utilitarian philosophy in her moral judgements of the sweatshop industry. John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher and founder of the utilitarian school of moral reasoning, describes it as the following: [t]he creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, utility, or the greatest happiness...
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...Economic globalization benefits worldwide poverty reduction By Hao Fan 02/20/2016 Globalization, the integration of economic networks that span multiple countries, influenced people in many aspects. If you go to a supermarket and able to buy French wines African coffee beans as well as Germany sausages, you are enjoying the convenience of globalization. According to Reem Heakal who wrote What Is International Trade?, he said “International trade allows us to expand our markets for both goods and services that otherwise may not have been available to us. It is the reason why you can pick between a Japanese, German or American car. As a result of international trade, the market contains greater competition and therefore more competitive prices, which brings a cheaper product home to the consumer.” As it does more than this, the economic globalization largely benefits the world wide poverty reduction. The first reason that globalization helps reduce poverty is based on one of the most essential economics concept-comparative advantage. Basically it means when countries are trading with others, they are allowed to specialize in the areas they good at and therefore allocate the resources more efficiently which will result in more benefits for every party involved in trades. Take China and United States as an example, given that china has relatively low cost of labor and the US is more sophisticated at advanced technology, it is natural or beneficial for Apple company to choose design...
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...The Way I see it Globalization allows us to walk down the street to purchase food we have never tried, learn different languages, meet people who share ideas we have never heard of, and do much more than what we are used to. Globalization is the connecting of countries, cultures, trade, communication, transportation, technology, and money. This process of becoming globalized concerns many worldwide, with many wondering how their life will change. It is the process in which different societies and cultures integrate to gain better understandings, and live a better quality of life. This progress affects the world economically, politically, culturally, and socially. It affects each country differently, some better than others. This term once meant that more people are moving across the globe, spreading ideas and goods across borders. In today’s world, some of the matters it deals with are free trade, world banks, sweatshops, and outsourcing. Many people see the positive effects of globalization. Societies that become richer with knowledge may be accepting of all types of people, making our world more peaceful. However, I see globalization as damaging to developing and developed countries in today’s world. Workers in developing countries are prone to harsh conditions and exploitation. Developed countries suffer from greedy CEO’s and unemployment due to outsourcing. Globalization damages developing countries because many young people work in sweatshops, which damages their health...
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...Case Study Andrew Sauls MGT 448 August 18th, 2014 University of Phoenix Case Study The Nike Firm is definitely the world’s leading company of athletic shoes and clothing. The company got its name from the Greek goddess of victory, and has achieved its reputation of becoming victorious within the sports niche for more than a decade. Nike has accumulated skyrocketing manufacturing numbers via independently hiring companies beyond the United States to manufacture. “Nike sold about 280 million sneakers, cross-trainers and running shoes last year. Doubling manufacturing workers' wages in China would cost Nike, which last year had revenues of almost $14 billion a year” (Dreier, 2007) Millions of people throughout the world have been in awe with the success of this organization. An incredible number of Americans have purchased merchandise produced by Nike. Nike provides a quality brand name that's supported by super stars and sports athletes; however millions of people are not aware exactly how Nikes involvement with outsourcing to third world nations has created great debate with labor unions, and more importantly employees within these countries.” Today’s global economy is characterized by rapid and at times wrenching changes, driven by competition, new technologies, and a continuing search for cheaper resources and markets” (Thinking Critically, 2008). Nike must bear in mind that together with the importance of manufacturing and supply of products and services they are...
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...Globalization and our Responsibilities Vanessa Strachan Saint Leo University Globalization and our Responsibilities Globalization Globalization is the integration of the world’s economies; it helps to increase productivity, which can raise the standard of living. It is driven by technology advancements in communications and transportation and motivated by the desire for free markets. “Globalization can be technological (the Internet), economic (trade, pro- duction), cultural (television). Globalization can also foster international solidarity. But the dominant view is that globalization means increased commercial relations between people of different countries” (Unknown, 2009). Globalization is the opportunity for developing countries to tap into the world’s economy, which will allow the opportunity to sell many goods to as many people around the world. Globalization includes markets and production. “Globalization of markets refers to the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace and the globalization of production refers to sourcing goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land and capital)” (Hill, 2011). Globalization is an opportunity for big corporations as well as for small businesses; it is the movement of jobs, goods, finances, and investments. With the advancement of technology...
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...University of Phoenix Nana Offei MGT/448 Global Business Strategies Case Study Nike: The Sweatshop Debate July 5, 2012 Professor, Marc Mosko Nike, the sweatshop debate Nike Inc. was started by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, who met each other in 1957 Before going into business, Knight became a certified public Accountant (CPA) the original Nike Inc. was founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and his friend Bill Bowerman with a collective investment of 1000 to fund the business tries (Nike repository, 2010) The company began with Bill and Phil being local distributors for the Onitsuka Tiger footwear brand now own by Asics footwear, Bill and Phil did business out of their cars at local track meet and sporting event to athletes in the vicinity of the University of Oregon, the first sport retail store open in California in 1966 as where the company profit began to grow they realized that their financial limits imposed by Onitsuka Tiger would limited their long team profits (Nike repository, 2010) This paper will describe the legal culture ,and ethical challenge that confront the global business as personated on the case study, in addition the paper will determine the various roles that the host government played in global business operation .at the end it will summarize the strategic and operational challenges facing global managers illustration in Nike organization Global business doesn’t come without challenges Nike organization plan to...
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...Exam #2 Take Home #1. Mackey’s view of CSR is that the company must value their customers and give them a value product. Friedman’s view is that the money is important and corporations should capitalize among that. Rogers seems to be in the middle of the two but he has a strong view that the profits are important. I believe Rogers is the best view. This is because he mixes the two ideas together. He believes you should make profits but he also believes that treating customers with value is also important, and that is what makes his view most compelling. If you look at Friedman’s view you’d feel profits are over everything. “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits” (Friedman). And an excerpt she gives from the Wealth of Nation "I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good” (Smith). Both of these quotes show the central viewpoint that Friedman holds. He feels it is not smart to just be concerned about treating people with value because that will get you nowhere. You have to make some profit. Now onto Mackey’s viewpoint, you can see the need for people to be valued. “I’m a businessman and a free market libertarian, but I believe that the enlightened corporation should try to create value for all of its constituencies” (Mackey). “The most successful businesses put the customer first, ahead of the investors” (Mackey). Both of these quotes show why Mackey believes his business is so successful. He feels because the...
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...presented various cases to defend their positions on conducting business in the foreign country. One such example is a Nike sweatshop labor case that stirred up a large amount of controversy over ethical business practices. Even though Nike has attempted to recover from the bad press it received about the sweatshops, it still struggles to defeat the negative feelings from people across the United States. Thus, a summary of the case, the legal, cultural and ethical challenges, an understanding of the roles the host governments play, and the strategic and operational challenges faced are important to gain a thorough understanding of the issues and case. Most people could easily define Nike and are familiar with the products offered, like the customized options available in the Nike store online, Nike Sportswear, Nike Women, Nike Basketball, and Nike Football. These products, among others, have led Nike to a profit of $15 billion in 2006 and a catchy “Just Do It!” slogan (Hill, 2009). The company outsourced its manufacturing plants to several countries in order to lessen costs and become more efficient in productivity. The outrage and protests that followed were far from what Nike expected; the company was labeled as forcing “children to slave away in hazardous conditions for below-subsistence wages” (Hill, 2009). As a result, protestors of globalization and human rights activists criticized Nike for taking advantage of the...
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...Is Globalization bad or good? We are stepping into a whole new time of globalization in many aspects. Countries and countries are associated with each other, from cultures, economy, and policy, etc. A big melting pot of different cultures is right on the stove, it is actually exposing many effects to various aspects and areas. Under the new social background with mixed cultures, things always have two opposite ways, good or bad. Some arguments point out that globalization could be the cause of some serious problems like war, terrorism, and immoral business activities. Countries lose their unique identities and less country power as a whole party. However, other evidences prove that without globalization, the world would never change. The result is actually pushing the whole world forward for further development, gathering all creation and benefits together, and is even beneficial for emphasizing countries own identities from many others. Globalization is the process of migration; capital flows, spreading of cultures, technology and food spreading throughout the world. It is happening everyday, everywhere in the world. I, as an international student comes from China and attending my university in United Stated, I bring the money to US, come with my own Chinese culture background and personal identities, my language, and living styles as an Asian. I think I have finally fallen into a part of cultural globalization, exchanging or sharing my culture with American friends, I benefits...
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...points in whether Globalization is good or bad: ECONOMIC GOOD: -Economic theory of comparative advantage applies, international trade in the long run will make parties better off, developing countries improve their conditions by doing something they do “better” than an industrial nations (so they charge less for the same amount of work done) - Sweatshops are good for third world countries because they provide better wages and working conditions than the alternatives (e.g. prostitution) -Sweatshops are creating jobs for people in developing countries allowing them to have discretionary income - sweatshops are a major source of capital accumulation in a country. -Countries with sweat shops save on cost in production and so have increased capital investments by other countries and trade ports increases which lead to economic success -decrease in unemployment rate in the country that the sweatshops are located BAD -sweat shops create monopolies as small businesses can’t enter due to cost (they can’t get cheaper labour) -sweatshops often don’t pay tax and thus don’t pay for the public services they use for production and distribution and don’t contribute to the country’s revenue. SOCIALLY GOOD - They creates jobs for the unskilled people and people who unable to go to school not wasting mental capital, eliminating unemployment and income being generated. Some communities encourage people to work in a sweatshop. - Sweatshops are good because the...
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...and international norms. This theory aims to achieve positive impacts on the environment, consumers, employees, and the communities. Under the force of globalization, this theory has been challenged by the diminishing different roles of the government and firms, especially when the power of multinational companies is rising. Most corporations, especially multinational corporations (MNCs) have already adopted CSR policy despite the fact that there are still debates over the concept. Under globalization, states power has weakened whereas the power and influence MNCs have significantly strengthened, making them become more state-like. This expansion of role played by MNCs in society has urged the rise of concern groups to pressurize on them to take up more social responsibility. As Amaeshi, Osuji and Nnodim (2006) argues, although the MNCs do not bear legally any responsibilities for the practices of its suppliers, they have a deontological duty to use power responsibly and influence the weaker parties by setting codes of conduct and standards. In electronics industries, as Good Electronics, a Dutch-origin concern group on human rights issue in electronics, has stated that the lack of effective regulations and inadequate corporate CSR initiatives have caused exploitation of workers. Under globalization, many corporations have outsourced their products manufacturing process to other countries, mainly developing countries. In those countries, domestic legislations...
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...factory women who had made said sneakers. She argues that women have shaped globalization, in basically all industries. Cheap labour hides politics. Because of cultural views and the way women saw themselves, it made it easy for companies to manipulate these Korean women to work for cheap even though they knew they were underpaid. This is because they had to help contribute to the family. The author argues that we need to think about women factory worker’s strategies seriously when thinking about globalization because we need to craft a new analytical curiosity that unravels the Gordian knot tying together sneaker design, sneaker company calculations, local regime’s ideologies of femininity, working-class men’s martial expectations, middle-class pro-democracy alliance building efforts and factory women’s complex and evolving strategies. Ultimately, while sneaker companies may celebrate the globalized girl athlete in their own advertisements, they simultaneously rely on regimes to undermine the legitimacy of local feminists challenging critiques with claims that those women activists are mere dupes of western neo-imperialism. Analysis This was an interesting read. I think many people can learn from this article. As a global leader, my views on cheap labour and women in sweatshops have truly broadened. The idea of women in sweatshops is not foreign to me, but the idea that women shaped globalization because of their contribution to cheap labour really opened my eyes. I had not...
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...A Case Study Analysis of Foxconn: Perspective of a manufacturing sweatshop in China Boyao Zhang R/W Grad VI University of Delaware English Language Institute May 29th, 2016 A Case Study Analysis of Foxconn: Perspective of a manufacturing sweatshop in China An irreversible trend of economic globalization presents opportunities and challenges in China. Overall, foreign direct investment (FDI) and open trade, two major elements of commercial globalization, have played a crucial role in the international business market in the last thirty years (Lessmann, 2013). To avoid shortcomings, numerous developed countries have established their manufacturing industries in developing countries. Due to the advantages of lower labor cost and abundant resources, China has become the first choice of international manufacturing processing enterprises; therefore, as far as China's economy is concerned, the manufacturing processing industry is a vital element of national income and a crucial part of China's economic structure (Chan, 2013). Nevertheless, although it is indisputable that FDI and open trade have positive effects on the Chinese economy and the development of technology, in recent years, Chinese economic and environmental issues are undeniably caused by economic globalization. (Chen & Ge, 2010; Lessmann, 2013). Foxconn, a representative company of manufacturing industry in China, is a beneficiary and victim of FDI and open trade (Guo, 2012). This case analyzes the labor...
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...2003, Gap Inc. was sued for its usage of child labor and sweatshop factories in its subsidiary in Saipan. The decision to use child labor and sweatshop in Saipan was made by the management of Gap Inc. that could either be seen as egoism or utilitarianism (Smith, 2004). On one hand, on the egoism perspective, Gap Inc. could have decided to use child and sweatshop labor to cut its costs and maximize its profits. On the other hand, on the utilitarianism perspective, Gap’s decision to use child and sweatshop labor, cruel and ethical as it might seem, provided the people in Saipan a source of employment and income. As a poor, third world country, Saipan could not create enough jobs to sustain the livelihood of all its citizens, so it the citizens could choose between starving to death and making a difficult living in Gap’s sweatshops, the sweatshop is apparently a better option. Hence from the utilitarianism approach, Gap’s unethical behavior was actually better than its doing nothing at all. However, this decision gave Gap an international lawsuit over ethical treatment of labor, which does not cost Gap considerable fortune and energy, but also severely harmed its international reputation as an ethical player in the apparel industry (Smith, 2004). It turned out that the public citizens and the media prefer to use the Kantianism when viewing a corporate ethical issue (Iwanow and McEachem, 2005). After this Saipan sweatshop incident, the stakeholders of Gap Inc. placed huge pressure...
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...Global Business Ethics-Nike’s Sweatshops Ann T. Dale MGT/216 Global Business Ethics-Nike’s Sweatshops Nike is a worldwide sports name in wear and equipment. So, why is Nike’s ethics in question? Has greed and publicity become their motto at any costs? Nike spends multimillion dollars a year hiring well-known athletes to advertise their products yet cannot seem to stay out of the media’s eye of their contracting or subcontracting techniques of their products to be built in third world countries. In 1996, Nike has been charged by critics with engaging in a variety of unethical employment practices in countries that exercise little or no control over the conditions of labor or whose governments are corrupt and can be bought off (De George, 2006, chap. 20). In dealing with business issues, a company needs to be aware (what are the issues), articulate (justify and express decisions), and application (reach a decision, train and explain ethics to employees). Ethical behavior has to start at the top of a company and work its way down. Here we will compare ethical perceptions across cultures about the ethical situation, discuss the ethical issues that became evident due to globalization, and discuss the risks and consequences associated with the Nike ethical dilemma. Compare Ethical Perceptions Across Cultures About the Ethical Situation Trevino and Nelson (2007) defines business best stating the “definition of ethics—the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing...
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