jasminewing

When one thinks of a business, one may associate this with employees wanting to make as much money as possible. However, this is not the case with all businesses. Take, for example, Free the Children, a non-proft organization dedicated to changing the world around us. They mainly target youth to get the new generation to “be the change” and “educate, engage, and empower.”

Free the Children was founded by Marc Kielburger when he was only eleven years old. One morning he was flipping through the newspaper to find comics when he stumbled upon the article “Battled Child Labour, Boy, 12, Murdered” that caught his eye. A young boy in South Asia named Iqbal Masiah had been a slave since the age of 4,  and was murdered trying to defend children’s rights. Marc Kielburger knew something wasn’t right and started a group at his school that has since become one of the largest non-profit organizations with children helping children. Free the Children has built over 650 schools around the world and reached out to millions of youth. One of the main things that Free the Children  implements is Adopt a Village which is made up of four pillars to try to overcome poverty: education, alternative income, , health care, and water and sanitation. Me to We, a partnership of Free the Children, also does trips overseas to places such as Kenya, Ecuador, and India. Last summer I participated in a trip, and travelled to Kenya for three and a half weeks to help build a library and immerse myself in the culture.

Free the Children taught me that business does not always have to mean doing things to get rich, but rather using the skills to direct it towards your passion.

Ethical or Unethical?

Businesses strive to be ethical for many reasons. Yet what does “business ethics” really mean? It could refer to avoiding lawsuits, avoiding actions that could harm the businesses image, and avoiding breaking the law.

Dov Charney, founder of American Apparel, has a company known to be ethically”sweat shop” friendly where all clothes are made in Los Angeles. However, Charney goes against one main business ethic- he crosses the line with inappropriate employee, employer relationships. Dov Charney believes that “it’s a First Amendment right to pursue one’s affection for another human being.” He believes there are no restrictions and has been involved in consensual sexual relationships with staff members. To make matters worse, he has been charged three times for sexual harassment by former female employees. Seven other women have spoken to Business Week revealing stories about multiple stories where higher ranked employees had sexual relationships with lower ranked employees that were rewarded with promotions.

It is hard to judge Charney, as he hires workers from overseas and pays them twice minimum wage, and provides lunches and English lessons. I believe that Charney is unprofessional because he creates situations that can be uncomfortable for employees and detrimental to the workplace. He is ethical in this sense, yet he is not ethical in his relationships.

Links: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/American+Apparel+hipster+darling+more+bankruptcy+looms/3422463/story.html

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_26/b3939108_mz017.htm