Nike Controversy Paper

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.

Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight first started Nike on January 25th, 1964 but the name started out as Blue Ribbon Sports. They worked for a Japanese shoemaker called Onitsuka Tiger as merchandisers. Eventually Bill and Phil changed the name to Nike on May 30th, 1971. The company name Nike came from the ancient Greek goddess of victory (O’Reilly).

Since the 1990s, Nike has been embroiled in controversy over its use of sweatshops. Including numerous media reports of workers earning very little an hour (14 cents per hour), and even workers abused by sub-contractor (Allarey, 2015). Incidents such as these are ingrained in Nike’s history and not quickly forgotten. However, as CEO I would like to attempt to correct wrongs.

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.

Nike was founded under the name Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964. In 1972 the first pair of sports shoes was sold and experienced enormous growth and achieved a 50% market share within the sports shoe market in the US only eight years later.

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

They should be responsible for the legal, social and philanthropic aspects of its subcontracted factories. They are not paying their employees the legal minimum wage, caring about the working conditions and welfare of these employees and just not taking into consideration the well-being of others. Ten years ago, the company had been subjected to negative press, lawsuits, and demonstrations on college campuses alleging that the firm’s overseas contractors’ subject employees to work in inhumane conditions for low wages. With the introduction of the fair labour association and worker rights consortium, Nike is slowly trying to improve the working conditions on subcontracted factories and hopefully in 10 years, they would be able to re-establish themselves as a morally acceptable company.

Nike is the world's leading supplier when it comes to apparel, athletic shoes and manufacturing sports equipment. The company was founded in January 25, 1964, by Bill Bowerman and Philip Knight, under the label Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike, Inc. and was named Nike after the goddess of Victory.

NIKE, Inc. is a multinational corporation, found in 1965 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight. It is headquartered at Beaverton, Oregon, US. Nike works to design, develop, manufacture, market and sell apparel, footwear, equipment, accessories and services. BRS was renamed Nike in 1971.

Based on virtue ethics, an action is ethical if it aligns with good character (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). Despite being limited to a set of defined good virtues, Nike can still be analysed based on virtues it has contradicted. Nike has contradicted ‘Honesty’, ‘Courage’, and ‘Justice’ by not disclosing and resolving the poor working conditions in the underdeveloped countries.

Nike began as Phil Knight’s semester-long project to develop a small business, which included a marketing plan. This project was part of Phil Knight’s MBA course at Stanford University in the early 1960s. Phil Knight had been a runner at the University of Oregon in the late 1950s. His idea for his project was to develop high quality running shoes. He thought that high quality/low cost products could be produced in Japan and then shipped to the United States to be sold at a profit. His professor thought that Knight’s idea was interesting, but not much more than a project.

Nike began as an enterprise in Oregon with its founder, sports enthusiast Phil Knight. In 1962, Nike started under the name Blue Ribbon Sports. During this time, the athletic shoe industry was dominated by the Adidas and Puma companies. Knight recognized there was segment of serious athletes that had specialized needs that were not being addressed by the major companies.