Examples Of Ethical Issues Of Nike

NIKE, Inc., is a company that was founded in by William Jay Bowerman and Philip H. Knight in 1964, and was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc. It’s name was changed to Nike, Inc. in 1971. It’s base of operation is located in Beaverton, Oregon. NIKE, Inc., is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities worldwide. Entirely owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., a brand that develops, advertises, and sells athletic apparel and accessories; and also Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and sells surf and youth lifestyle clothing and many different accessories. Its athletic footwear products are designed primarily for specific athletic use, although a large percentage of the products are worn for casual or leisure purposes. Nike offers products in many different categories such as men’s/women’s training, running, basketball, golf, and more. The company also sells products designed for children and youth athletic activities such as baseball, cricket, lacrosse, outdoor activities, football, tennis, volleyball, walking, and wrestling. Also, Nike sells sports apparel and accessories; and markets apparel with licensed college and professional team and league logos. Further, it sells a line of performance equipment and accessories, including sports bags, balls, eyewear, digital devices, bats, gloves, protective equipment, golf

Like other large corporations, Nike looked to expand their operations outside North America. Many companies do this because of the law and wage demands of the United States making overseas operations very appealing. Employment laws are scarce and labor is cheap in most third world countries and can be easily become targeted by giant corporations such as Nike.

The ethics of businesses are under more scrutiny than ever before (Bones, 2014). Ethics can be considered as following a code of behaviour agreeable with the context of society and can also be defined as the application of moral and ethical considerations in a business environment (Hurn, 2008). Sport businesses have been targeted a lot more in recent years due to the conditions they place their workers in has become more apparent to the outside world. Nike are one of the world’s leading sports brands but have been faced with many allegations in recent years (Daily Mail, 2011) in regards to the conditions they put their workers in and their ethics and morals have been questioned. This report will critically evaluate the impact ethics has on the business operations of Nike and then analyse the reasons for why ethics impact the sport organisation. Finally, recommendations will be made to improve Nike’s business ethics.

The company has launched the Nike products, which embody a love of sport, discipline, ambition, practice, and other athletic traits.

Nike is the English version of the name of the Greek goddess Nike, which, according to legend, helped the Greeks to win on the battlefield. The American company Nike has transferred this meaning to their products - shoes, which help to achieve great sporting achievements. History of the brand had started with a search for the founders of the niche of sports footwear in the US market, which was free that time. In the early 60-is of Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight founded the company, the initial capital of it was $ 1,000. Phil Knight decided to develop high quality sports shoes in the United States, produced in Asia and sold in the United States. The company originally existed under the name Blue Ribbon Sports, but in 1971

Nike was established in 1972 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. These two men were visionaries. The goal for Nike was to carry on Bowerman’s legacy of innovative thinking by helping every athlete reach their goal or by creating lucrative business opportunities that would set the company apart from any competition. This included providing quality work environments for all who were employed by Nike.

This paper will discuss the company Nike. Nike has had many ethical issues, which will be addressed. The ethical dilemmas that Nike faced will be evaluated under two ethical frameworks. The whistleblower part that was played in exposing Nike will be analyzed. This paper will evaluate whether Nike used marketing or public relations successfully when trying to repair the damage caused by the reported lapse in ethics.

As a leading company in footwear industry, Nike believes they have the responsibility to conduct their business in an ethical way and also expects the same of its business partners. Moreover, Nike focuses on working with long-term, strategic suppliers that demonstrate a commitment a safe working conditions to their employees (Nike, Inc., 2014).

They have created more sustainable products such as t-shirts made of recycled polyester and recycled plastic bottles. Recycling old shoes into new ones. Nike started numerous charities and has donated millions of dollars to organizations to help repair Nike's image. Nike must continuously work towards the enforcement of their corporate social responsibilities that they have presented to their suppliers at the same time they must remain competitive in the market place.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on their workers, who are the backbones of making the actual shoes, they are spending it on their advertisements to promote their company. I realize that advertisement is essential to the success of a product, but it should not be at the cost of another human being to make a profit. I know that Nike is just one of thousands of companies that have taken their labor overseas, so that the product can be made at a fraction of its cost. Unfortunately the public sees Nike as a company whose product is worn by the rich and famous, therefore it is something that they would want for themselves. We the consumer enable them to continue this kind of business, because we buy the product. Through global media, we the public are becoming more aware of this kind of exploitation of workers. Overall, I think there is no pride to be found in companies that exploit their employees at the cost of a better profit for themselves. Awareness is going to be the key to hopefully fix it in the near

This bad public image has led to loss of existing customers and potential customers switching to more ethical brands. Nike’s marketing team has had to make it a big priority to counter any negative publicity and re-focus consumer’s attention on what they are doing about the allegations.

Many of us know Nike for the clever maketing campaigns, celebrity athelets, "swoosh" logo, and "Just Do It!" slogan. In 1963 the world's largest athletic shoe company was founded by Philip Kight and Bill Bowerman for $500 apiece and a handshake, and today has over $9 billion in revenues.

Nike should not be allowed to claim they are an ethical company especially when they are still outsourcing to impoverished countries in Asian. The company takes advantage of low living standards and lack of democracy in those countries. There was nonexistence of labor movements in countries like Indonesia. The government never allowed

Nike, Inc. has been the world’s leading innovator and provider in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for 50 years. Their mission has been to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world; if you have a body, you are an athlete. Arguably one of the most innovative companies in the world, Nike has built its brand into an iconic world-class powerhouse that continues to dominate the market with no signs of slowing up. Nike’s marketing and advertising have been breakthrough, aspirational, and legendary over the years, featuring high-profile athletes and heroes.

Nike’s CEO’s and management made a decision to begin using sweatshop labor in order to save money and begin aggressive marketing. They used this aggressive marketing to have a one up on their competitors, in fact, Nike spent 280 million dollars alone on advertising in 1994 (Schwartz, 2000). Nike would give great athletes million dollar contracts to endorse and wear their clothing. For an example, Andre Agassi received 70 million dollars to endorse Nike's tennis clothing line. The choice to start aggressive marketing is the reason why Nike entered into this crisis and started making unethical decisions. Once the top management of Nike realized the profitability and popularity of hiring professional athletes to wear and endorse their clothes, regular advertising would not suffice. The company became greedy and were willing to use cheap abusive labor so that they could pay professional athletes millions of dollars (Schwartz, 2000).