Team and Groups

Team and Groups

Isaac Otheo

Micah Bailey

South Texas College

ORGL-3322-VF2

5/6/2022
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Introduction
Child slave labor in the planting, farming, and supply chain of cocoa has always been a significant

issue since the early 2000s. Various governments, international human rights groups, and other

stakeholders have revealed that the sector has been dominated by child trafficking, especially in the

West African nation of Ghana. Children are trafficked from neighboring French-speaking countries

such as Burkina Faso and Mali and later forced to work for little or no pay in the cocoa villages of

Ghana (O’kefee, 2016). Many of these children get little or no access to education hence dimming

their future further. As a result, these activities have painted chocolate manufacturers in a horrible

light, Cadbury not excluded. Consequently, as per the guidelines of the chief executive officer, this

paper seeks to document the group's composition, challenges, and solutions that can help handle

these challenges before they result in a crisis. The particular group will seek to Solve the ethical

concerns regarding child slave labor in the production of chocolate at Cadbury.

The best kind of group to accomplish the ethical goals of the project and why it will succeed.
Different organizations utilize different types of groups to achieve a variety of objectives.

Therefore, in Cadbury’s case, it is vital to consider all the types viable to settle on the group that

would sufficiently address all the issues raised to ensure Cadbury complies with the protocols set

to clear the sector of child slavery (Chatterjee & Elias, 2007). The two main options available are

instituting a formal group or a committee/task force. It was realized that a formal group would be

more rigid since it should comprise employees of the company who possess similar skills and work

on the same objective or department. However, a committee or task force was more idea.

Committees are temporary and can be disbanded after the goal is attained. Additionally,

committees can involve other stakeholders who are not employees. Furthermore, since committees

comprise well-vetted specialists, they are likely to develop a viable solution to the problem in the

least amount of time possible.

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The Main Challenges That the Group May Face and Possible Solutions
Lack of cooperation from farmers and management officers in cocoa farms practicing child slavery

and other human rights violations. The current order has been working to their advantage, and they

would like to stick to the status quo. Children who are trafficked to work on farms have minimal

demands. Consequently, they pay them the least amount of money possible and overwork them to

make as much profit as possible. Therefore, it is expected that they might not be willing to expose

their activities to a group threatening to end their ways of operations. Consequently, the committee

must create awareness of its activities in the local communities to gain its support.

Officials from the government of Ghana might also prove to be stumbling blocks in the committee

operations. Cocoa is one of the primary foreign exchange earners in the country. To avoid

interference in their economy, government officials have chosen o turn a blind eye to the children's

rights violations perpetrated by some coca farmers. Therefore, some officials may be willing to

protect the vice since they have tolerated it for a long time, giving the group a hard time in its

investigations and policy implementation. Another challenge that might arise is the fact that there

is inadequate actionable knowledge on the extent of child trafficking and slavery in the cocoa

production sector. Therefore, the committee will have to rely on information from victims or their

oppressors, which might be biased or untrue. To navigate these challenges, the group can bring on

board government officials and members of organizations who have relevant information so that

they can endorse and support the initiative.

The committee also has to operate under a budget and a specified time frame since Cadbury

requires recommendations that will restore the company's good image and, at the same time,

effectively and efficiently handle the issue at hand. As a result, time and financial resources will be

a significant challenge. There is a limitation on the amount that can be spent and the time allocated
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for all the milestones so that the final results to be submitted for action. The group should utilize

the time and resources allocated wisely to deliver its mandate to overcome the challenge.

The Group's Composition

The committee/task force members should be diverse and comprehensive to ensure that the

findings and recommendations will help end the problem. Although we do not anticipate that the

committee operations and suggestions will please everyone, all stakeholders need to be included in

the membership. Therefore, the members will consist of representatives from the management and

staff at Cadbury, representatives of the cocoa-growing communities and farms in Ghana and other

affected areas, some government officials to advise on the plan of action, and also non-

governmental organizations that have dedicated time and resources trying to fight child labor, child

trafficking, denial of access to education among other children rights violations perpetrated by the

sector.

Interests to be considered.

The group will consider the interests of all the stakeholders in this case. These include the children

working in cocoa farms, the owners of the cocoa farms, the cocoa-growing communities, the

relevant governments, the customers of Cadbury products, and finally, the owners, management,

and staff of Cadbury. It aligns with the core values and the ethical theory adopted at Cadbury. The

company culture promotes respect for diversity, integrity, and taking responsibility. It believes in

ethical business practices and sustainability brought about by caring for the planet. The company

also believes in spreading happiness, joy, and bliss through its products worldwide. The committee

will consider all these aspects while considering and respecting the feedback raised by all

stakeholders.
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Conclusion

The decision by Cadbury to set up the group is timely and critical. The sector should ensure that

innocent children are not exploited for profits. The group's composition and other guidelines

suggested herein will ensure that the objective is attained to remedy the situation now and in the

future.

References

Chatterjee, S., & Elias, J. (2007). Cadbury | Yale SOM CRDT. Retrieved 6 May 2022, from

https://cases.som.yale.edu/cadbury
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O'KEEFE, B. (2016). Bitter Sweets. Retrieved 6 May 2022, from

https://fortune.com/longform/big-chocolate-child-labor/