Re: Yuxi Jin’s blog post , Thoughts About Business Ethics Related to “CVS Vows to quit Selling Tobacco Products” article 

The blogger(Yuxi Jin) expressed, “This is a great example of what a successful business should be, doing beneficial things for the society within its authorities.” Indeed I am very glad to see someone who shares the same value as I do. However the story of CVS’ determination to end tobacco sale is not 100% unfolded in the blog post. Although the result of CVS quitting the cigarette sales is as the CVS President, Helena B. Folks stated, “an important step in helping Americans to quit smoking and get healthy;” the initial motivation behind the move has nothing to do with the company’s consciousness, but a strategic plan to increase its profits in the healthcare industry.

The market for cigarettes market in North America has being declining over the years. The number of smokers decreased by almost 50% in Canada and 13% in Boston and San Francisco. On the other hand, healthcare market is continue to grow in noticeble amount. Therefore CVS gave up their tobacco sale in exchange of the profits from the healthcare services and pharmacy goods. CVS stops selling tobacco in hope to create a “healthy” balance sheet later.

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“The deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry…killed 1,100 workers in Bangladesh.” (Fortune) The disaster is preventable if the factory owner followed the building code. Instead of doing that, he “urged workers to return to their jobs despite evidence that the building was unsafe.”(nytimes)

The owner’s decisions were against business ethics. For one, according to Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory, employees are stakeholder. The factory should provide its employees with proper security measures, not hazards. Also, as a supplier, the factory was not being responsible to its customers. As a result, some “Western clothing companies that rely on the cheap labor in Bangladesh” are rethinking about their decisions. At last, the owner was not responsible to its investors. People invested money into the factory or its related firms to get more returns. However, the owner was unethical in the sense that the resources, including labor(employees) and capital(the facility&machines) are wasted because of his decision. These resources could be used to increase profits. According to “Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits”, such action is against business ethics. In addition, such a scandal ruined the image of the company and affected those who invested in it.

Since the owner violated the interests of multiple stakeholders: employees, customers and shareholders, he is highly unethical

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