... stuff-selling mega-corporations have a huge influence on our daily lives. And because of the competitive nature of our global economy, these corporations are generally only concerned with one thing…the bottom line. That is, maximizing profit, regardless of the social or environmental costs.” —David Suzuki Bottling of freshwater from a rare resource in the Fiji Islands, and harvesting of cocoa beans via child slave labor in West Africa, are both ethically questionable. Business practices from both commodities have little regard on damages inflicted during their production. Ethical issues, similarities, and differences with both commodities will be contrasted, a presentation of socially responsible strategic alternative(s) will follow, and finally possible impact(s) of said strategic alternative(s) to stakeholders highlighted. Identification of both contextual and evolutionary issues is needed to form a comprehensive picture of the situation, linking questionable business performance(s) to Applied Ethics standards. This will assist to adequately categorize the issue and develop a socially responsible strategic alternative(s) to remedy the damages caused, and determine their possible impact(s) to stakeholders. Two generic determinants influence the outcome of either proactive or reactive business ethics practices, the internal and external perceptions of a corporation; in conjunction these two determinants create a generic conceptual framework and also contribute to underpin...
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...Child Labor Child labor is a significant global issue and an increasing epidemic in many developing and poor countries. It is a very controversial issue because some people believe that it is just pure unethical, while others believe that their children need to work in order to provide for their family. Often times Americans criticize a third world country’s way of life. Just because their culture is very different from ours we automatically assume that it is wrong. In my opinion child labor is not entirely wrong, but it can be unethical. I believe is unethical for children to be working under deplorable and unsafe working conditions. If a child is going to work, they should be treated with basic human rights and equal pay. Poverty leads many children to work and in some countries it is the only way for some families to survive. These countries often times do not have the necessary education for children and so it is not depriving them from having a good education. By having children work in these undeveloped countries it is raising per capita income and also the GDP, so one-day children will no longer have to work. Child labor has been apart of almost every society recorded in history. The United States was once a developing country and employed many children, but once the economy became stable enough we passed a Child Labor Law. Therefore, I don’t think that child labor should be outlawed worldwide, but I do think there should be laws against having children work under...
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...is it morally or ethically right because it is helping those in need or because it seems acceptable in the world today. In 2012, a Chinese electronics manufacturing company, who is responsible for producing components and parts for Apple, was revealed to be employing underage workers after an internal audit was done against them. This act was in direct violation of child labor laws, but seemingly enough many U.S. companies continue to use products from Chinese companies that hire underage workers to produce their products. Even though it is against the law, many justify this action by believing it is ethical because it provides jobs to people in need and that the children want to work and are doing so to help their poor families in need. Also, this helps Apple because it provides them with very cheap labor, so it is a beneficial to not only the workers but the company itself. The media bashes these companies by putting them on the news and writing articles explaining the accidents and mistakes that happen often because children are not capable of manufacturing products correctly. Although ethically child labor is frowned upon, many companies continue to invest in these companies and turn their back on America’s laws of business. (Apple) Business ethics began in the 1960’s in the beginning of the “Social Responsibility” movement. The movement itself stimulated the public interest...
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...Ethics on Child Labor Trafficking Child labor is a very controversial topic around the world especially when BBC World News created a documentary about the children of the Ivory Coast harvesting cocoa for large chocolate companies. Most children involved in child labor trafficking are pulled from their homes at an early age and are forced to work long days in high cocoa trees. If the children get paid at all, they don’t receive the money directly; the wage is given to a relative. The children don’t have a “normal” childhood like that of American children who play with toys and have fun with friends. An absolute ethical view among 1st world countries is that child labor trafficking is completely wrong. However, the people of the Ivory Coast think that child labor trafficking is acceptable because it is all they have ever known; it is their way of life. Consequently, I feel that child labor trafficking is not absolutely wrong, but it is unethical in some aspects. I believe that if the children are going to work, they should also receive basic human rights like the right to an education. Education is such an important tool of progress, which is all the Ivory Coast needs. With education they would be able to grow as a country and increase their standard of living. Without education, child labor trafficking becomes a vicious cycle: children are trafficked, and they grow to be traffickers themselves. I also think that it is unethical how the children are treated. They...
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...Below is a controversial article, with the comments being even more controversial? I share this with you as food for thought in addition to the wk 6 Infosys assignment. This is by no means a definitive word, I’m not saying I agree or disagree and it is not peer-reviewed, though Bloomberg Businessweek is a well respected industry publication. What the article will do is cause you to question a few of your thoughts on how you will address the wk 6 assignment. Controversy is a great way to make one think! Hamlin, Kevin. (2001, 8 Sept). China’s One-Child Policy Is Crippling Industry: Low-margin businesses are suffering from a shrinking labor pool and rising costs. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/chinas-onechild-policy-is-crippling-industry-09082011.html China’s One-Child Policy Is Crippling Industry: Low-margin businesses are suffering from a shrinking labor pool and rising costs. [pic] By Kevin Hamlin Lin Chang Jie is battling to save his family’s business, which makes towels, cushions, and robes in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo. The main threat he faces is a dwindling supply of workers, which forces him to pay higher wages. “I have to find a new way,” says Lin, 29, who is attempting to transform his Dejin Textile into an online fashion retailer in order to shrink headcount and keep the business from closing. “Wages are going up, up, up,” he says. “If we don’t like somebody’s work we can’t say anything, in case they leave.” Manufacturers...
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...Globalization and child labor are the two perimeters that are often linked together. Since globalization opens up new jobs in poor countries, as the foreign competitors strive to minimize their costs of production, many argue that this creates countless opportunities for the exploitation of children. Harsh working conditions, subjection to near-slavery, and even physically abusive treatment are some of the taglines that have made globalization into even a more controversial issue. However, as a byproduct of poverty, child labor has been long-standing and not exclusively caused by globalization. Faced with newly available jobs, the decision whether children will enter the workforce or acquire education is solely made by their parents. Hence, the reality is that the preferences of parents are the main determinants of the outcome. According to Jagdish Bhagwati, the author of In Defense of Globalization, “poor parents, no less than rich parents, generally want the best for their children” (Bhagwati, 69). The claim that follows is that these types of parents will most likely put their children back in school rather than send them to work. As new jobs provide higher salaries, parents can feed the entire family and sustain normal living without the help of their children. Extra income that they now earn compensates for the earnings from the children’s work. Parents who highly value the goodwill of their children will also prefer education because their children will enjoy numerous...
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...Research Work Subject: Educational Sociology Ten Social Problems and Issues in our Country. |Social Issues |Causes |Alternative Plan/Reforms |Status/Condition | | | |(government/agencies) | | |1. Poverty |Population growth |- Tulong sa Tao Program of the Aquino |Philippines have not been strong | | |Lack of individual |Administration; |enough to speed up the pace of | | |responsibility / Laziness |- Social Reform Agenda (SRA) |poverty reduction. This in turn would| | |Weak Agriculture sector |of the Ramos administration, |impact on the country's progress | | |Poor government policy / Corruption |- Lingap Para sa Mahihirap program of |towards Eradicate Extreme Hunger and | | | |President Estrada, |Poverty. | | | ...
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...button debate in the political and business arenas for good reason. The Family Medical Leave Act requires companies with greater than 50 employees to provide 12 weeks unpaid leave for new mothers. The act, as it currently stands, excludes many workers that are employed by smaller businesses and inadequately supports those that do essentially penalizing the mother and child which can result in social inequality. This paper explores why providing paid maternity leave is a better ethical and economic decision for businesses and society in general. Using a comparative analysis on maternity leave in other countries and the potential positive outcomes of providing paid maternity leave by working to achieve a stronger work-life balance. This paper also explores ways in which payment of maternity leave benefits can be addressed. A Review On Providing Paid Maternity Leave and The Benefits of Valuing Parents In The Workplace Maternity benefits, once believed to be only a consideration for young women who were contemplating a family, is now an issue for both men and women who will either biologically have or adopt child(ren). Most of us are familiar with the Family Medical Leave Act issued in 1993 in the United States that states “roughly 60% of the women in the United States are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave” (Ludsteck, 2014) and that’s with companies that employ 50 or more. In comparison to other countries’ provisions, these 12 unpaid weeks could be interpreted...
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...growth. Too much of a good thing is not such a good thing, however, and this lead to the Gilded Age. A Period of political machines, monopolies, harsh industrial conditions, and many other horrendous happenings. The goal of the Progressive Era was to fix these issues. (Contextualization) Progressive reforms were remarkably successful in achieving the improvement of society, primarily by implementing more tolerable working conditions and ending corruption in politics....
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...Human-Sex Trafficking In China; Human Rights Being a male is more significant than being a female in Chinese culture. Needless to say, women are less valued than men; therefore, human trafficking, where Chinese women get sold to become sex slaves, is very common. China has become the sex and labor trafficking capital of the world, according to U.S. Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican. This is a highly controversial topic because it’s not brought up often, that’s why people are not that familiar with this appalling situation. Thus, this paper’s main purpose is to inform about human trafficking in China and how it operates: China’s human rights and law policies, who are the audiences involved, how they get picked, women’s education regarding diseases, where and why it happens, the dangers that are involved, how money plays a big issue in bribery, and lastly, what’s being done by Chinese government about it. Bringing about the adoption of the One Child Policy law, and the preference for having male babies led the impact of having more men than women in China by tens of million. The consequences of this matter have created men in China not able to seek women to marry. This ordeal has not led to an increase in the human trafficking of women, but also to an increase in the number of prostitutes and the amount of men who seek them out for their services (Quan, I.) On the basis of who gets picked, predominately, these sex workers are girls that are internal migrants...
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...Kenny Ramirez Soc-415 Global Problems Abortion In society we as people have standard behavior or beliefs concerning what is and is not acceptable and that is called morals. Sometimes we like to believe what’s right is wrong and what’s wrong is right. The pre-conventional level of moral development reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Abortion is the most controversial topic of our generation. It is an on-going fight between pro-life and pro-choice. Many people believe that is wrong while others are the total opposite. A person must first be informed about the history of abortion, in order to understand and form an opinion. The different methods of abortion being performed today, and the potential side affects are equally debatable sides. I believe the government shouldn’t decide what a woman does with her own body. This is one of those topics that can go on for day’s maybe weeks and months without settling anything. Before making any decision is best to be informed about all these important issues, therefore, you’ll know where you stand. Abortion has been legal in the United States from the time the earliest settlers arrived. It has been performed for thousands of years where woman would help each other to abort. Britain first passed anti-abortion laws in 1803, throughout the century the law became stricter. Most abortions were illegal in the United States by 1880, except those who were necessary to save the life...
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...A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy HCA 322: Health Care Ethics and Medical Law A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy When one or more persons contract with a woman to gestate a child than relinquish that child after birth to the person or couple is known as surrogacy. It is a course of action that goes outside of natural reproduction. For some, it is the only method of having children, extending family. Surrogacy has been stirring up many controversies over the years. Ethics, morals, laws, religious views, etc. have played a major role in the issues that follow the topic of surrogacy. Laws and regulations pertaining to surrogacy vary from state to state. Some states have no enforceable laws towards surrogacy, while others only permit surrogacy contracts that are uncompensated arrangements and gestational agreements (Trimarchi, 2011). Some states prohibit same sex couples from entering into any form of surrogacy contracts. In this paper, I will be address the legal and ethical issues involved and other aspects of surrogacy. History of Surrogacy and Case Study Surrogacy was assumed to have been around since the Babylonian times. Alternatively, the most credible records to date allocate managing legal passivity and the public responses during the middle of the 20th century. Surrogacy did not become public in 1976, when Attorney Noel Keane negotiated the first ever surrogacy agreement ("History of surrogacy," 2011). Attorney Noel Keane...
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...Geog 2110 Regional Geography of China Yu Lee Lee 12017973 04-04-2014 Whether China should abolish the one-child policy has been a controversial issue in the society. According to “The effect of China’s one-child family policy after 25 years” (2005), due to the economic stagnation, the limited resources, the baby boomers in 1950s, the Chinese government introduced one-child policy in 1979 for the sake of promoting economic reform, improving the living standard and achieving small-size family in the long term. In the perspective of population growth, the writers believed that the policy itself is only partially responsible for the reduction in the total fertility rate. Instead, the voluntary “late, long, few” policy between 1970 and 1979 caused the most dramatic decrease in the total fertility rate. While the total fertility rate only had a gradual fall and stabilized at 1.7 since 1995 after the one-child policy was introduced. The article also suggested that one-child policy is just a contributory factor for the high sex ratio in China. Most importantly, the authors believed that the traditional preferences for males, sex-selective abortion and non-registration of female are the factors accounting for the high sex ratio. Unless there is a change in attitude toward female offspring, the sex ratio will remain high. What’s more, the article also suggested that the rapid decrease in birth rate and the improving life expectancy has led to an increase ration in old-age dependency...
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...A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy HCA 322: Health Care Ethics and Medical Law A Deeper Look into Ethics and Laws Regarding Surrogacy When one or more persons contract with a woman to gestate a child than relinquish that child after birth to the person or couple is known as surrogacy. It is a course of action that goes outside of natural reproduction. For some, it is the only method of having children, extending family. Surrogacy has been stirring up many controversies over the years. Ethics, morals, laws, religious views, etc. have played a major role in the issues that follow the topic of surrogacy. Laws and regulations pertaining to surrogacy vary from state to state. Some states have no enforceable laws towards surrogacy, while others only permit surrogacy contracts that are uncompensated arrangements and gestational agreements (Trimarchi, 2011). Some states prohibit same sex couples from entering into any form of surrogacy contracts. In this paper, I will be address the legal and ethical issues involved and other aspects of surrogacy. History of Surrogacy and Case Study Surrogacy was assumed to have been around since the Babylonian times. Alternatively, the most credible records to date allocate managing legal passivity and the public responses during the middle of the 20th century. Surrogacy did not become public in 1976, when Attorney Noel Keane negotiated the first ever surrogacy agreement ("History of surrogacy," 2011). Attorney Noel Keane...
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...The breakthrough discoveries in the field of assisted reproduction have brought new lights in the society. However, some of these discoveries evoked controversial issues. One of the controversial issues that received tremendous feedback is surrogate motherhood. As many couples fail to bear any child due to infertility, various alternatives appears to realize their dream of parenthood. One of the popular alternatives is surrogate motherhood. To begin with, the word “surrogate” means substitute. Surrogate motherhood is a term referred to an arrangement in which a woman becomes pregnant for the sole purpose of having a child that another couple will raise. This discovery causes to wake up each and everyone's mind. It also gave birth to the undying rivalry between pros and cons. Surrogacy is entitled with issues and controversies. It also left questions to our mind. Who really suffered and benefited with this? Other debates include moral and ethical questions. Does surrogacy go against natural selection, and is the burden it will cause to the children, the parents, and the surrogate mother, worth it? Some people believe that if an individual does not have the ability of reproduction, it should be selected, and technology should not be used to alter God’s plan. Surrogacy provides some couples with their only hope of raising a child genetically related to at least one of them. They believe that everyone should be given the chance to have a family, and if the surrogate mothers are...
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