Ethics In The Workplace
Ethics in the Workplace
The economy has changed over the years due to the change in consumer demands. Consumers are demanding quality goods at low prices. In order to be competitive in the market, many companies are outsourcing their manufacturing factories outside of the United States. Advantages of doing business over seas are lower overhead costs, lower wages, and no/few labor regulations; however, these companies cause employee layoffs in the United States and facilitate sweatshop conditions in other countries. "Sweatshop" is a word used to describe a manufacturing factory working condition that includes long working days, low wages, employee abuse, no job security, hazardous working environment, and child labor (www.ncee.net). How can companies justify hiring employees in sweatshops while assuring the quality of their products without any ethical responsibilities on humanity?
Sweatshops are allowed in third world countries because of dense population, limited education, high unemployment ratio, few job opportunities, poverty, no system to protect basic human rights, and no government support or labor regulation (www.ncee.net). Sweatshops are known to occur in textile, apparel, and shoes manufacturing industries. How can consumers have a conscience to buy products made by sweatshops? As per an article titled "Sweating for the Sweatshops," many brand name companies use Sweatshops to produce their products. The article describes employees working conditions in certain countries, how they were treated, and the ethical issues involved. Factories that produce products for major sportswear companies such as Nike, Fila, Umbro, and Reebok are working too many hours, for little pay, and in unhealthy working environments.
Many of the employees who are working in sweatshop factories are forced to work overtime. The forced overtime often means workers are working up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Employees often...
View Full Essay