Thomas Donaldson’s decision making algorithm may lead a multinational astray as a practice considered unethical at home may be permissible in a foreign country. The following essay provides an argument to this effect through the discussion of child labor.
In Canada, young persons are legally employable with minor differences in restrictions across the provinces. In B.C. a minor under 12 may work under specified conditions, approved by the Director of Employment Standards; for ages from twelve to fifteen, permission must be granted by a guardian or parent. For Manitoba, the minimum working age is 16 and a permit is required for a younger worker.
In general, youths must not skip school for employment and are prohibited from working late evenings: In Newfoundland, working hours are between 7am-10pm. A 16 year old may work 3 hours on school days and for weekends a maximum of 8 hours.
Certain establishments such as pubs, billiard and dance halls are off limits as they are thought to pose a risk to the moral development of youngsters. As well, car garages are considered too dangerous in employing youth.
There is consistency in employment standards across the provinces in protecting the vulnerability of youth by applying restrictions to working age, hours, type and conditions. The employment of youth is a carefully regulated and accepted norm in Canada.
In a developing country such as Africa, child labor is poorly regulated. Safety codes are not enforced as horrendous working conditions expose child laborers to dangerous work environments. In mining and quarrying, children as young as ten, toil in readily collapsible mines that are permeated with poisonous fumes. In textile sweatshops, children work 12 hours in hot, poorly ventilated conditions with few breaks. In cocoa plantations, children handle poisonous pesticides, and travel long distances under the scorching sun; moreover, they are often beaten and starved. Lastly, the source of child labor is partially fueled by human trafficking: children are often kidnapped or forced to work under “bonded labor” (in which the parents use the child as collateral for a loan and the debt is un-repayable under a less than living wage).
Canadians would argue that African child labor practices are unethical as they deny children’s rights to safe working conditions, freedom from bodily harm and freedom to education. A clear conflict in standards exists as markedly different and observable practices between the two countries are apparent.
Under Donaldson’s algorithm, child labor practices in Africa would be a “Type1” problem. Africa is an impoverished nation, and meeting basic living necessities is difficult. Wages are often inadequate to sustain survival; as a result, large family sizes are common with children often placed to work while forgoing education. Due to poverty, child labor would be an economic necessity.
If Canada were in the same level of economic development as Africa, it would very likely employ younger children to work long hours in unsafe buildings; use harmful pesticides; eat a minimal amount of food; and forgo schooling. A developing nation would tradeoff human welfare for productivity because it cannot afford to do otherwise: long hours are necessary to compensate for low wages because employers cannot afford to pay higher; the cheapest (possibly most harmful) pesticides must be used; deficient construction technology may not protect workers within buildings; and hard labor would compensate for yet to be invented mining machinery. In the past, the Canadian Industrial Revolution employed children as young as four, placing them to work in hazardous manufacturing plants; in cotton mills they worked up to 16 hours a day while being paid cheap wages.
In conclusion, Donaldson’s algorithm produces the solution that a Canadian multinational is permitted to administer unethical child labor practices as justified by an inferior level of economic development. This solution shows that in the absence of supplementary ethical decision making tools, the algorithm would lead a multinational astray by having it commit an unethical practice.