Reflection

Document Every organization has a man ensuring that it follows all the set ethical guidelines irrespective of the level of competition in the market. The society contributes towards the success of the business. As a result, every organization has a mandate or ensuring that part of the revenue collected through sales is taken back to the society to help in improving the living conditions of the people through supporting noble programs such as education and environmental conservation.
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I find it absurd that a company can outsource its operation to countries with fewer regulations concerning labor rights in order to produce products that are cheap with the aim of trying to remain competitive in the global market. Although cheap labor is one of the incentives that are making different companies to outsource their operations to Asian countries, there must be limits on how to use this labor. I was surprised that Nike kept stating that it was creating employment to poor countries while in reality; the firm was exploiting the local population and enhancing poverty in these regions. In addition, sweatshops were meant to ensure that money was distributed evenly to the laborers through high wages. On the contrary, the sweatshops were characterized by poor working conditions, low levels of environmental protection, and less attention to health and safety. Therefore, Nike Company was able to make immense profits on the expense of poor people in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam.
I have been persuaded that companies have not been making the lives of the locals who are working in sweatshops any easier. This is because with the increasing levels of globalization resulting from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information, and integration or economies the level of competition in the local market has increased tremendously. Many multinational companies such as Wal-Mart have also been found to have violated the labor rights in an attempt to offer the customers with high quality goods at very low prices. This is an indication that companies are targeting areas with fewer regulations in order to exploit child labor and pay low wages despite overworking these subordinates.
I never thought that child labor still exists in the modern society. I thought that competition is healthy and it makes the company to be innovative. In addition, I thought that competition forces the companies to mechanize their operations and becomes more innovative. However, this session has enlightened me on the negative side of intense competition in the market.
Comment
Companies have a legal and ethical responsibility of ensuring that it serves all people with dignity irrespective of their social class. Although competition is pushing many companies to the limit, the firms should not use unethical means in order to retain their competitive advantage in the market. Instead, they need to look for other creative means such as diversification of the products or entering new markets that have not been explored in order to remain competitive. On the other hand, global leaders need to rise against modern slavery. This is through establishing a body whose role is to investigate the operations of multinational companies overseas. This is to ensure that labor rights are followed in every stage of production.