Etch-a-Sketch Ethics

Case 5-3, "Did the Company Violate....?", p. 232; and Case 5-5, "Bulletin Board Use", p. 236. Answer the questions at the end of each case in typewritten format, 3 - 5 pages.

Along with the other hundreds of thousands workers in Packington, I experience the gruesome working conditions first hand. When I first arrived in Chicago with my extended family, I acquired the labor of painting advertisements on cans of meat, which was a job that paid me well. Most aspects in my life were going favorably well until the painting factory I worked for pressured their workers to paint cans quickly causing such an extraordinary amount of cans, the factory temporarily shut down. Once the supply of cans were running low, the factory reopened, but my wages were noticeably lower. Because I am invictus, I protested that I was being cheated out of a portion of my wages, which only led to me being fired. After a miserable month of being jobless and searching for anyway I could

On a Saturday afternoon, March 25, 1911, a fire started on the top floors of a factory in New York, The Asch Building owned by the Triangle Waist Company. According to the owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris were practicing a common procedure in many factories to prevent workers from taking extra breaks and preventing theft. They locked the exit doors. These owners, weren’t held accountable for the deaths of the 146 employees. Numerous workers could not escape from the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris would go to trial for their actions of ignoring poor work conditions against “the people.” But this was a time when there was more greed with many factory owners. Owners were not being proactive in making their

There are two stakeholders in this situation and they are: the companies Apple and Foxconn as well as the Chinese government. Apple has obligations to their employees both domestic and global. They need to be mindful that a corporation is only as good as its products as well as, its image. They need to be mindful that since its headquarters are in the United States, it should do all that it can to maintain a positive image. It is also important to make sure that the products they sell are quality products while keeping the price as low as possible. Foxconn has a stake in its people and the products they export. The unfair and inhumane working conditions forced the government to step in. Foxconn also needs to be mindful of the issues presented previously for Apple (the difference they are headquartered in China). The fact that labor violations were taking place, China’s government had an obligations to its people. They need to protect their citizens from hazardous work conditions and hold Foxconn accountable for their actions.

The work that these laborers did was degrading and dehumanizing. They were given one small task to complete a bigger goal, but they were never able to get the satisfaction of completing a product. This was very detrimental to the mental state of the workers and did not help them to make better quality products, because they only had one small insignifiant job in the whole process. They were easily replaceable and the work was so simple that children could easily do it. Document C shows that ten years before this time people specialized in a job, but as time progressed the job was subdivided and subdivided until the point that instead of knowing the whole trade, the workers know one small part of the whole job. The owners did this for cost cutting and to make production faster. No matter how hard one worked they often did not find joy in their work and they were unable to advance very far in the company. The labor unions did little in helping them to move up in the world if anything it made it harder for the workers. They had to sign contracts saying they would not join unions or else they would lose their jobs. Document D shows the contract that many had to sign saying they would join or be affiliated with the labor unions while employed, the companies tried to make it sound appealing, giving the guise that they would make life better and change things for the better if the workers

* Examine the manner in which the firm’s decision to outsource offshore is impacted by foreign exchange. Determine whether or not it matters where the company outsources offshore. Provide a rationale for your response.

In document J, a sixteen year old female mill worker from England gave a testimony and said that the only time they stop working is at dinner and that the overseer of the room beats the little kids if the do not complete their work right. Due to this evidence it is clear that the conditions that this sixteen year old was working in were harming their lives. In document P, a Japanese mill worker states that the women at the factory would be sexually abused by their overseers or the owners of the factories. The women of the Japan are being taken advantage of in their place of work, by people of a higher power. Evidently, they did not experience the same exact situations the mill workers in both England and Japan were both being treated poorly at

The intense requirements put on the laborers are causing problems which lead to unfair treatment. Most of the laborers were not properly trained with the equipment because that was not the manager’s main concern. Management was trying to be productive with speeding up production, but in return got angry employees working in unsafe areas. It is understood that there is no trust in the labor management relation, making it almost impossible for improvement. The overall problem should have been taken care of by the president when it first started many years ago.

     The exporting of American jobs is an issue that is important and will become increasingly so as more and more white collar jobs are shipped overseas. American companies in the past few decades have been sending American jobs overseas paying residents of other countries pennies on the dollar what they had paid American workers to do. This saves the companies millions of dollars on labor costs but costs Americans precious jobs.

5. Why do you think that the U.S. industry reacted with caution to attempts by politicians to reopen the trade dispute in 1993?

That being said, the worker's problems did not end once they found steady employment. Employers were harsh and unforgiving in how they treated their employees. For example, if an employee was one minute late they were penalized an hours pay. If they were 20 minutes late they forfeited their employment. Worse yet, if they were injured or hurt on the job the company takes no responsibility and the worker is forced to recuperate on their own time without pay (i.e.; when Jurgis sprained his ankle and had to recuperate at home for 3 months). The final insult to the workers was that even if they were always on time, worked hard and maintained their health they could lose their job due to the

IV. What is the main problem Breyer describes in Breaking the Vicious Circle concerning United States policy making? What causes it and how does the problem develop? How does it affect business? What solution does Breyer propose? Describe another plausible solution. Which of the two solutions, Breyer’s of that you just described do you consider morally preferable and why? What ethical theory discussed in class best supports your position? Critically assess this theory by contrast with other ethical theories discussed in class.

3. What impact does a plant closing have on a small town like Plainville? What impact does the closing have on the employees?

“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.

b. What are some of the reasons for the ARC's ethical dilemmas, and how can the organization guarantee that these problems will not recur in the future?