Ethical Theories

The issues that face workers is ever changing, in modern times a lot of the original issues seem to have been solved. Long hours, have been be replaces with mandated working hours defined by law, safety issues can be covered by OSHA, age limits again are decreed in law. Comparing modern day America to 1800’s America and the stark contrast in working conditions creates room for a strong argument opposing Unions and any tangible outcome they may produce besides lining their own pockets

Throughout the Twentieth Century, the evolution of workers’ rights in the workplace has drastically evolved. Through the utilization of constitutional freedoms, workers across the nation came together to support the goal of receiving fair treatment from employers when it came to wages, work conditions, and benefits. However, this wasn’t achieved without great sacrifice from the average man as standing up for their rights was a brave act that usually resulted in consequences.

In order to operate ethically in a global marketplace, corporations like Exxon Mobil need to define the conduct that they expect from their officers, executives, managers and employees. Without a defined code of conduct, employees feel forced to use their personal mores to determine what actions they should take in ethically ambiguous situations. Like children on a playground, employees need to know where the fences are so that they can work effectively.

Shaw, W.H. (2014). Business ethics: A Textbook with cases, (8th ed.). Boston, MA : Cengage.

From this rises a larger issue in regards to managerial ethics. The major issue that arises here in regards to this is the decisions which drive profitability at the expense of the environment. Has the standards of conduct and moral judgements used in the behaviour of BHP aligned with environmental standards and global consistency? How do these judgments in turn affect not only the local environment but also the socio cultural environments? To focus on these ethical issues it is important to look at the regulations that govern corporate behaviours, the nature of the relationship that BHP as an organisation has with its social environment and the connection that economic growth has at the cost of ethics.

To overcome the harsh and terrible working conditions, workers decided to go on strikes to

These employees were forced to work long hard hours which management would make up day to day including the pace that the employees were told to work. For many working in the industrial field was not the job that anybody wanted yet Americans were forced into these horrific labor factories because there were no other jobs available. Eventually this extreme amount of abuse became unbearable for many employees who led to strikes and workers’ demanding civil liberties and the desire to be part of a union became greater.

Unfortunately, employers don’t always have to hire their workers back. For instance, if they believe the union did not act in good faith, they may have the right to fire their workers. Few private employers can afford simultaneous 100 percent turnover, even temporarily, so a strike threat encourages negotiations. Today, management holds more leverage knowing that many people cannot afford the risk of losing their jobs in such a competitive economy. So instead of negotiating labor issues, employees are satisfied with what is given to them. The rhetoric of solidarity has long obscured the reality of unionism: Unions drive up wages by pitting workers against workers, insiders against outsiders (Reason).

As a consequence, of a steel mill owner like Andrew Carnegie, only caring about how to keep the mill running efficiently and keeping costs low, many of these “robber barons’ resolved this problem by squeezing the amount of money that running the mill would be or having to replace machinery. Instead, they kept the old machinery; this eventually leads to most American steel companies to go out of business later down the line. American steel finally ran its course, as other countries began to develop and have their industrial revolutions. These countries soon would pass up the American steel industry and replace American as the leader in steelmaking and production. Because of the horrid working conditions, many workers went on strike the demonstrate their unrest at the dangerous situations in the factories and of course the long hours. Unfortunately, the moment that the workers decided to go on strike they were instantly fired from their jobs. However, some employees disagreed with the strikers and decided to go to work. These people were known as “scabs” along with the scabs, factory managers hired immigrants to replace the employees that have been fired for going on strike. The constant threat of losing a job for going on strike was always there for factory employees. An example of this would be the Haymarket riot in which many workers walked out of the plants, and decided to

This is not the first time in history that companies have lacked sympathy for their employees. All one has to do is visit an internet search engine and type in the words: industrial and revolution to learn how poorly most companies treated their employees when unchecked. It is common American knowledge that during the industrial revolution children, five and older, often worked in mines and sweat shops for more then sixteen hours a day. It is also widely known that workers received ridiculously low wages, and that when a factory worker was injured on the job, they were most likely fired with out receiving any benefits or money to help with the medical costs.

Most common people that were employed worked an extreme amount of hours, and barely recieved any pay in return. Businesses were very dangerous and unsanitary, workers received poor insurance if they even received any. If an employee was to get hurt or become ill, they’d still be expected to come into work. If they didn’t show they’d most likely be fired or laid off. An example of this is when George Pullman built homes for all his employees, but ended up lowering their wages, but not the cost of living. As a result of this, his employees went on strike and ended up being fired. Multiple letters had been written to him and they never got through. Only ⅓ of his workers been rehired ( Pullman Strike Letter). This supports my thesis because it helps explain how the workers were treated, and the conditions they worked in almost

Employers initially resisted unions as they were seen as a ‘tool of worker power’, and some countries even banned the groups all together (Baoill 2011). Although these restraints have been lifted, restrictions and guidelines have been put in place by government bodies to govern union activity; and employees internationally have the right to form unions (Baoill 2011).

Living in a time period in which workers are protected by federal and state laws, it is hard for me to imagine a time when workers especially unskilled workers were completely at the mercy and disposal of their employers. As I was reading this chapter I couldn’t help but compare these people to the thousands of immigrants in the United States. These workers were paid so little despite all the work they did. And sadly, the same goes for these immigrants. Although many citizens believe they are taking away our jobs, these people are doing the work no one else in the country is willing to do. Anyhow, the age of the modern factory changed all of that, and the unfairness with which the workers were treated became quite known. For example,

In this paper, I will argue that ethical dilemmas, like outsourcing labour, are best approached using the algorithm suggested by Thomas Donaldson; showing that businesses can engage aboard within an ethical manner. To begin I will examine how Donaldson’s “guiding principles” and “core human values” (Donaldson 173) can exist despite different values across cultures. Next, I will consider his premise of ethical leadership and its use in the multinational firm. Having defended these positions, I will then compare his work to that of Ian Maitland. I will specifically address how Maitland’s arguments do not successfully defend the human rights of international employees. This will demonstrate that Donaldson’s argument is more suitable for ethically-driven corporations and sets a positive precedent for future ethical conduct.

“And Hansel said to Gretel; let us drop these bread crumbs so that together we can find our way home, because losing our way would be the cruellest of things” (The Tide That Left and Never Came Back: One Tree Hill 2005). The construction industry lost its way, over the years the industry has faced many accusations for undertaking in unlawful practices and performing unethical behaviour. This is detrimental to our nation as a whole as Australia’s growth and development is dependent on the performance and wellbeing of the construction industry. The industry is responsible for satisfying the needs of our ever expanding society by contributing to the growth of our economy, the creation of our infrastructure and improving the standards our everyday lives. To live up to these responsibilities the industry must understand the importance of the work it does and do it in a way that is ethically right, the problem is how do we determine whether the decisions the industry makes justify as ethical? Ethical practice in the construction industry “is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling” (Valdemar W. Setzer, 2006). The industry operates in both the public and private sectors which employs many people who all have different morals and values which influences the decisions they make and how they perceive them. This creates a rift in the industry as what is deemed as acceptable varies between person to person