...provided great enhancement in the role of a nurse. I read the “Nursing History Timeline” and found out how much Florence Nightingale, Walter Whitman, Dorthea Dix and Harriet Dame made an enormous impact on the nursing practice. I wish everyone who chooses nursing as a career embraces their patient advocacy and compassion for others. The first trend in the “Nursing Timeline of Historical Events” was the quality of care. In the beginning of nursing prior to the 1800’s very little attention was given to the quality of care provided to patients. Most of the nursing care was provided by men of religious orders and currently the nursing profession is employed by women. Today we strive to provide the best quality of care to our patients as a whole. I feel it’s not the quantity of care given it’s the quality that makes the patients feel they have been given the best care possible. The second trend is “Modern Nursing” early on in the Crimean War a nursing job was considered “undesirable”. “A nursing job was given to the immoral, the alcoholic and the illiterate”. These days a registered nurse is one of the most desired jobs for men and women. I feel very honored to be a nurse and very lucky to have a college degree. Society has made nursing a reputable and educated career choice and highly desirable. The third trend is technology and how it has tremendously evolved and become so complex. The timeline shows many things like computers, instruments and equipment that have improved...
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...Case Study of IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge In 1995, IKEA met a problem that its main supplier, Indian rugs, used the child labor to produce products, although they had signed an attachment of the contract to ban employing child labor. In addition, a German documentary maker was about to broadcast the problem of child labor on German television and also invited an employee from IKEA to have a live discussion in the TV program. Marianne Barner, the leader of IKEA, must find a great solution to this serious issue to both save her business and the corporation’s brand image. In this issue, IKEA was not the one who produced products, so they might not realize the use of child labor in the process of production. In addition, child labor did not attract lots of attention from the society at that time, so they did not pay attention to the use of child labor when they were finding their suppliers. However, they sold terminal products so they were to blame. As a result, Marianne had to make several decisions, respectively about whether IKEA should accept the invitation to join the TV program, how to deal with the broken contract with Rangan Exports, how to deal with the child labor on the long term and whether IKEA should use Rugmark. To address this problem and make these decisions, IKEA has four choices. One is that IKEA could utilize its own relationship with its suppliers to solve the issue. The second choice for IKEA is to invite Rugmark Foundation on its behalf to monitor the...
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...IKEA Case 1) IKEA’s vision to “create a better life for the many people” defined IKEA as a company and separated them from their competitors. In the early years of the company, IKEA faced many hardships from the cartel of furniture manufacturers who controlled the Swedish industry to keep prices high. To counteract these hardships, IKEA created a unique business model that was different from competitors. This model included key features such as the use of a catalog and having self-assembled furniture, which saved the company on transportation and storage costs. Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, developed the strategy of selling affordable, good-quality furniture to mass-market consumers around the world. Another important part of IKEA’s vision was their relationship with their suppliers. Kamprad wanted to develop close ties by supporting its suppliers with long-term relationships. A manager in the case states, “We commit to doing all we can to keep them competitive—as long as they remain equally committed to us.” IKEA also serviced customers with features such as a playroom for children, a low-priced restaurant, and grocery store. All of these features were highly beneficial and profitable for IKEA while also helping everyone (suppliers, customers, etc.), as their mission strives for. Although IKEA had achieved success with their business model and vision, they experienced multiple environmental and social issues that tarnished to company’s image and reputation...
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...In the wake of recent changes within the regulatory environment, specifically related to use of formaldehyde and child labor, IKEA is struggling with maintaining its business-as-usual operation. The past formaldehyde and recent child labor scandals are symptoms of a larger underlying problem. Recent context developments, specifically in the macro environment, have made the firm’s previously profitable strategy inept. Since the current context is beyond the control of IKEA, it has to alter its existing strategy in order to maintain strong financial performance. The myopic cost minimization strategy, which places price at the root of each business decision, needs to evolve into a “triple bottom line” strategy. This proposed strategy, in addition to profit, would incorporate environmental and social factors in the business decision-making process. While difficult to quantify, these added factors would ultimately benefit the financial health of the firm by mitigating compliance penalties, lawsuits, and negative press. IKEA’s failure to take proactive business measures to monitor suppliers, action that would have entailed little upfront costs, cost the firm sizeable financial losses. Such poor decision-making began in the early 1980s, when Danish authorities passed formaldehyde regulations and the firm suffered a 20% decrease in Denmark sales due to lack of compliance. The firm failed to fully resolve this issue as a decade later the firm incurred an additional $6mm-$7mm loss...
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...Child Labor – A Challenge the World is Facing Childhood is the most innocent stage in a human life. It is that phase of life where a child is free from all the tensions, fun-loving, play and learns new things, and is the sweetheart of all the family members. But this is only one side of the story. The other side is full of tensions and burdens. Here, the innocent child is not the sweetheart of the family members, instead he is an earning machine working the entire day in order to satisfy the needs and wants of his/her family. This is what is called 'CHILD LABOUR'. There are various causes and effects of child labour. Eliminating child labour is one of the biggest challenges that the whole world is facing. Child labour includes working children who are below a certain minimum age. This practice is going on since long and is one of the worst forms of child exploitation. Child labour not only causes damage to a child’s physical and mental health but also keep him deprive of his basic rights to education, development, and freedom. According to statistics provided by UNICEF, there are an estimated 250 million children aged 5 to 14 years employed in child labour worldwide and this figure is continuously increasing. Child labour is not only affecting under-developed and developing countries, but developed countries are also facing this though the rate is comparatively very less. Child labor in Asia accounts for the highest percentage of child labour (61%) followed by Africa (32%)...
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...Child Labor Today, Child Labor laws exist to ensure children are able to get an education and be employed under safe conditions. History tells a different story to the meaning of child labor. History explains how the industrial revolution changed the lives of young children during this time. Children as young as four years old were put to work, some worked under very hazardous conditions and were treated cruely. According to the Unicef website,” many children are put to work in ways that often interfere with their education, drains their childhood of joy, and crushes their right to normal physical and mental development”. This paper examines the history of child labor, the hazardous jobs these children endured, and the medical conditions resulting from such conditions. In addition, this paper examines meetings held within communities, and among organizational leaders on both the state at national levels addressing child labor issues and how to combat them. In the United States company owners use to hire children to work in factories because they were not hard to work with. The children would listen and do what they had to. By 1900 the factories moved south. Lots of children were hired in factories that dealt with textiles, agriculture and many others. During the twentieth century the number of child labor increased. The National Child Labor Organization worked to end child labor. They also worked to get children free education. In 1938 the government took control...
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...Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices Synopsis of The Situation Based in Beaverton, Oregon, Nike had been a corporate success story for more than three decades. It was a sneaker company, but one armed with an inimitable attitude, phenomenal growth, and the apparent ability to dictate fashion trends to some of the world’s most influential consumer. Selling a combination of basic footwear and street-smart athleticism, Nike pushed its revenues from a 1972 level of $62,000 to a starting $49 million in just 10 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nike had been plagued by a series of labor incidents and public relations nightmares; underage workers in Indonesian plants, allegations of coerced overtime in China, dangerous working conditions in Vietnam. For a while, the stories had been largely confined to labor circles and activist publications, until a young female worker had died in a Nike contracting factory in 1997, the labor conditions at Nike had hit the mainstream. While the marketing of Nike’s products was based on selling a high profile fashion item to affluent Americans, the manufacture of these sneakers was based as an arms-length and often-uneasy relationship with low paid, non-American workers. Key Issues Nike's strategy of shaving costs caused ethical dilemmas that ultimately damaged its reputation. Nike outsources all of its manufacturing. This approach has provided Nike with huge profits, from a 1972 level of $60,000 to a startling $49 million in...
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...involving Indian rugs as well as child labor is a complicated case of social issues. Whenever a company founds itself involved in a child labor controversy, it can severely damage the customer’s perception of the company. This impact can prove to be irreversible. In 1994, a Swedish television network showed a documentary film about children working in Pakistan, targeting IKEA. In India, IKEA faced criticism about child labor from various international organizations. In the spring of 1995, another film is threaten to be shown on German television about children working at looms at Rangan Exports, a company used by IKEA and the producer then invited IKEA to send someone to take part in a live discussion during the airing of the program. These events urged the company to consider environmental and social issues more seriously, and therefore, find a solution. Just like any other globalizaed company, IKEA needs to get the cheapest supplies and therefore go to countries that offer cheap labor. However, developing countries involved in IKEA´s production such as India, and Pakistan are facing a lot of social issues about human rights. When IKEA set its foot in these countries, it could not avoid these problems. For example in India, estimates of child labor in India vary from the government’s 1991 census figure of 11.3 million children under 15 working to Human Rights Watch’s estimate of between 60 million and 115 millions...
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...Riordan China Report Riordan China Report As a multinational organization, Riordan Manufacturing deals with multiple ethical issues involving corporate social responsibility (CSR). There are a number of serious social issues which affect developing countries as well as large countries such as China and the United States. These issues include the degradation of the environment, collapse of the global financial system, the abuse of human rights, and the improper use of child labor. There are numerous agents (stakeholders) involved in these ethical debates including employees of the corporation, government agencies, NGOs, consumers, and the media (Lopez-De-Pedro & Rimbau-Gilabert, 2012). Riordan Manufacturing is faced with three potential ethical issues in their Chinese operations plant. This paper will address these three issues, as well as possible mitigation plans, implications for the stakeholders, and a recommended course of action for the organization. Issues Raised There are three primary issues raised related to Riordan Manufacturing which will be discussed in further detail: (1) potential water supply contamination issues; (2) worker rights issues at the Yin Motor Company; and (3) child labor law violations. These issues could result in potential fair trade agreement violations, ethical violations, and legal violations for Riordan Manufacturing resulting in high fines, penalties, and a loss of public and consumer trust. The first issue is the potential...
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...How should Marianne Barner respond to the invitation for IKEA to have a representative appear on the upcoming broadcast of the German video program? To tackle this knotty problem, it is highly recommended that IKEA should participate in the program. The first thing should be taken into account is that this documentary was produced by a noted German company, which further meant gaining high credibility and extensive influence too dangerous and can be harmful for Marianne Barner to underestimate or ignore. Consequently, a heads-on response is not merely necessary but also imperative. Further to that point, the company does have gained some positive accomplish ents to the child labor issue since the problem was first raised by Swedish television. IKEA could analyze and discuss the information it had collected so far from UNICEF and the ILO and demonstrate its same attitude as the director of the documentary film as well as pursuing the same goals of eradicating child labor. It could turn the baffling problem around by showing its gratitude to the director for helping spot the child labor at the company’s manufacturing and could never to be too emphasize that the company is going to study the case thoroughly. Furthermore, what Marianne Barner should point out is that as the IKEA’ s philosophy goes: Anyone can make mistake but one should take the responsibility of making a mistake. Taking responsibility has been served as a privilege. Since the IKEA was unaware of making th...
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...Board of Directors Proposal New and Improved Walmart I would like to thank the executives at Walmart for giving me the opportunity to provide insight and expand upon Walmart’s horizons for the 2014 business year. I graciously accept the appointed board member position with great integrity and plan to maintain the company’s great successes for this year and the future. While Walmart is a well renowned super store, it has been scrutinized for its labor rate as well as its overall unfair treatment of employees. The scrutinized label of this establishment allows me to offer an alternative perspective and therefore propose a solution to preserve the Walmart name. The possible future operations and procedures which I would like to see changed within each practicing Walmart is related to employee’s salary, pay, manufacturing and labor. My proposals incorporate much consideration in regards to maximizing the return to shareholders, providing for employees and serving the larger community and overall society as a whole. My considerations and proposals will also serve the consumer portion of the community because when employees are satisfied, customers are satisfied. Previous to my appointed role as a board member for this company, I made assumptions regarding the way Walmart operates and functions as a business. Walmart has always been about saving, which in my mind is not only great for the people, but it is great for business. It is great for the people because the goods that...
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...Case 8-2 IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge. 1. How should Marianne Barner respond to the invitation for IKEA to have a representative appear on the upcoming broadcast of the German video program? I suggest Marianne Barner to refuse to appear on the upcoming broadcast of the German Video Program. Every coin has two sides. Accepting this invitation is the opportunity for IKEA to quickly response the child labor issue in public media. In this way, IKEA could assure that they will be more aware of social responsibility and potential upcoming social issues in the future. However, the German Video Program won’t allow the company to preview the video and that the program clearly “planned to take a confrontational and aggressive approach aimed directly at IKEA”. If they go to the invitation with no preparation of what kinds of issue and questions could probably be faced with, it might potentially mislead by the videos or questions they answered in the show. Therefore, Marianne Barner should politely refuse the invitation and respond the video when they have a chance to review and verify the truth in the video. While, in the meantime, IKEA have time to investigate the truth and assign more policies to against child labor issue for their suppliers. 2. What actions should she take regarding the IKEA supply contract with Rangan Exports? IKEA should sent out the investigation term to figure out the truth whether the Rangan Exports failed in compliance with the ethical...
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...Background: IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad who embedded his strongly held values and beliefs in IKEA’s culture. IKEA was created out of Kamprad’s family kitchen selling goods such as fountain pens, cigarette lighters and binders that later turned into a catalog business operations selling furniture. In developing IKEA’s furniture retailing business model, Kamprad was confronted with a cartel of furniture manufacturers that kept prices high by controlling the Swedish industry. This issue later became the vision of the company “creating a better life for the many people”. IKEA also introduced their key feature of self-assembled furniture where customers bought furniture in flat packages and put them together at home. This was known as the “knockdown” concept that allowed IKEA to save on transportation and storage costs. Conflict with the cartel of furniture manufacturers in Sweden forced IKEA to source materials from abroad. To maintain IKEA’s quality and delivery, IKEA taught their processes and provided machinery to their suppliers in Poland. After expanding their suppliers globally, IKEA created a general procurement principle that that stated IKEA should develop close ties by supporting its suppliers with a long-term relationship. By the mid-1990s IKEA worked with 2,300 suppliers in 70 countries. IKEA has 24 trading service offices in 19 countries that monitor production, test new product ideas, negotiate prices, and check quality. Since 1980’s IKEA has been looked upon...
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...Regardless of numerous organizations that promise change, there are still over 200 Million children working world wide. Of those 200 million children, around 126 million are working under dangerous and hazardous work conditions including beatings, humiliation and sexual violence by their employers1. In India, about 12% of all children between the age of 5 and 14 are engaged in child labor activities including carpet production2. They often are being trafficked from one form of labor into another, as with girls from rural Nepal, who are recruited to work in carpet factories but are then trafficked into the sex industry over the border in India3. What is child labor? Child labor is characterized as a regular use of children less than 14 years of age for hard manual labor. Usually hiring children is illegal, but that doesn’t stop a lot of factories, especially in third world countries, to hire them anyways. The worst form of child labor is the “bonded labor”. Bonded labor means that children give their children away (they bond them) because they owe people money. These children work to pay off their parents deeds and are being enslaved and forcibly recruited. Overall one in six children under the age of 14 (about 16% of all children in this age group) is involved in child labor in the world4. Discussing those numbers, we have to keep in mind that child labor is different from child work. According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s fund), children that want to participate...
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...Child Labor Today, Child Labor laws exist to ensure children are able to get an education and be employed under safe conditions. History tells a different story to the meaning of child labor. History explains how the industrial revolution changed the lives of young children during this time. Children as young as four years old were put to work, some worked under very hazardous conditions and were treated cruely. According to the Unicef website,” many children are put to work in ways that often interfere with their education, drains their childhood of joy, and crushes their right to normal physical and mental development”. This paper examines the history of child labor, the hazardous jobs these children endured, and the medical conditions resulting from such conditions. In addition, this paper examines meetings held within communities, and among organizational leaders on both the state at national levels addressing child labor issues and how to combat them. In the United States company owners use to hire children to work in factories because they were not hard to work with. The children would listen and do what they had to. By 1900 the factories moved south. Lots of children were hired in factories that dealt with textiles, agriculture and many others. During the twentieth century the number of child labor increased. The National Child Labor Organization worked to end child labor. They also worked to get children free education. In 1938 the government took control...
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