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Prevalent Moral Issues and Dubious Practices in The Workplace
Prevalent Moral Issues and Dubious Practices in The Workplace
WORKPLACE
Unethical Practices on the Part of Employers
1.
Sexual Harassment
2.
3.
4.
Tax Evasion
5.
6.
Cutthroat Competition
a.
Business Espionage
b.
Infringement
c.
Negative Advertising
d.
Pirating Employees
7.
Employing Children
8.
Double Standard
a.
Gender Discrimination
b.
Age Discrimination
c.
Disability Discrimination
d.
e.
Religious Discrimination
9.
Favoritism
2.
Palakasan
3.
Discourtesy
4.
5.
Pilferage
6.
Strikes
2.
Bluffing
3.
Whistle-Blowing
Introduction
Labor unions are employee-organized associations that protect employees
rights and further their interests within an organization. Labor unions
typically require membership in which employees pay union dues to receive
union representation.
In 2008, about 12% of Americas workforce was unionized and 50% of
working individuals were interested in working for a union (Macaray,
2008). However, depending on the prominent industry of an area, union
represented workers may be much more common. For example, in The
Motor City, metro Detroit, the United Auto Workers (UAW) represents
hundreds of thousands of employees of from Ford, Chrysler and General
Motors.
Aside from the automotive industry, other heavily unionized professions
exist in both the private and public sector. These professions include
teachers, police officers/firefighters, railroad workers and construction
workers.
Labor Union History & Membership
Unions began to form after the industrial revolution in the mid-nineteenth
century. Original labor unions were not successful because they lacked
communication and leadership. In 1947, Taft-Hartley Act was passed into
law, which to this day is the code of conduct for unions. It gave workers the
The median weekly income of full-time wage and salary workers who were
union members in 2010 was $917, for nonunion workers it was two hundred
dollars less at $717 (Union Membership, 2012).
Cons
There are disadvantages of union representation also. For someone who
would prefer to act individually rather than have someone negotiate on his
or her behalf may not see the benefit of being union-backed. Other
disadvantages include:
work the longest hours and are the worst paid of all laborers (Sadiqi and
Patrinos, 1998)
Africa and Asia together account for over 90 percent of total employment
(Basu and Van, 1998). Underdeveloped countries such as Ghana, Tunisia,
Burma, and Cambodia have a really high unemployment rate and a corrupt
government that does not enforce child labor laws. This makes it very
appealing for companies that want to cut costs down and increase revenue.
Companies such as Hersheys, one of the largest companies in North
America are raking in over $6 billion in annual revenues (Bloxam, 2012).
After looking at the revenues of these companies, it is not surprising that
they are paying workers at an extremely low rate and using child labor.
Attributes to Child Labor
Child labor is especially common in rural areas. For example, 66 percent of
the officially employed children aged 6 to 14 years in Peru work in the
countryside (Basu and Van, 1998). There are many reasons why child labor
occurs in undeveloped countries. The most important reason for child labor
is poverty, and the induced pressure upon them to escape from this world of
slavery. Schooling is another contributing factor to child labor. All parents
would like their children to get an education. When there is no access to
school, or there might be a low quality of education, parents will want their
children to find ways to make money or learn new skills such as agriculture
to bring income to the family. This vulnerable state leaves children prone to
exploitation.
using child labor. Even though this may not be legal or ethical in the United
States some companies do capitalize on child labor. Companies such as
Nike, Apple, Microsoft, and Hersheys exploit the lack of laws from
underdeveloped countries.
Just this month Whole Foods Market said it has halted orders of Scarffren
Companys artisan chocolate brands over concerns about child labor in
Hersheys West Africa supply chain (Stevens, 2012). Another example of a
famous company exploiting child labor is Nike. One of the plants (Subakumi
Plant) in Indonesia, say that supervisors frequently throw shoes of them,
slap them in the face, kick them, and call them dogs and pigs. Its
understandable that child labor laws are not the same throughout the world.
This fact does not mean that companys such as Hershey and Nike dont
have responsibility for every supply chain or plant managers that break
those laws. These companies have to be held responsible, but at the same
time need to find solutions and ways to reduce or completely abolish child
labor. Most companies have begun to work to find ways to make life better
and fair for workers in underdeveloped countries.
Solutions for Child Labor
Abusing human rights can be costly and can have a negative image on a
company. Most companies are changing policies and trying to find ways to
help workers. Nike is one of the companies that is taking a big step forward
and is allowing outsiders from labor and human rights groups to join the
independent auditors who inspect the factories in Asia, interviewing workers
and assessing working conditions (Cushman, 1998). Another company that
is committed to eliminating child labor is Hersheys. Hersheys has
committed to sourcing 100 percent certified cocoas for all its products by
2020 (Stevens, 2012). Hersheys also introduced a program called
COCOALINK. COCOALINK distributes information about climate and pest
control (DuBois, 2012). . Programs such as COCOALINK help farmers
double their crop yield in a couple of years (DuBois, 2012). All these
http://storage.globalcitizen.net/data/topic/knowledge/uploads/201110
0611931705.pdf
Basu, Kaulshik, Van H., Pham. The Economics of Child Labor. Vol. 88, No 3
(June., 1998), 412-427.
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http://myweb.lmu.edu/ahealy/474_psets/articles/article3_childlabor.p
df
Fallon, Peter,Tzannatos, Zafiris. (February, 1998). Child Labor: Issues and
Directions for the World Bank.
-
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/74184/winter2002/procee
dings/pdfpapers/mod10pf.pdf
Stevens, Harry (October 19,2012). Child Labor Concerns Across Hersheys
Supply Chain Prove it Pays to be Proactive .GreenBiz.
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/10/18/child-labor-concerns-
hershey-supply-chain
Cushman, H., John, (May13, 1998). International Business; Nike pledges to
End Child Labor and Apply U.S. Rules Abroad.
-
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/13/business/international-business-
nike-pledges-to-end-child-labor-and-apply-us-rules-abroad.html
DeBois, Shelley. (February 7, 2012). How Big Chocolate Plans to Save its
Cocoa Supply. CNN Money.
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/07/big-chocolate-cocoasupply/
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