Sep
18
“Nestle; not as sweet as their products taste.”
Posted by: Lydia Choi | September 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment
In classmate Tanner Kirkpatricks’s blog post, he speaks of Nestle’s “usage of children as laborers in the production of their cocoa,” where “over 600,000 children are working on cocoa farms for little or no pay in excruciating working conditions.” Child labour has been a problem constantly discussed worldwide, and many large organizations, such as Free the Children, have devoted their entirety in attempting to solve the problem, and spread awareness. It is disappointing, yet unfortunately not a surprise, that large corporations simliar to Nestle have exploited child labour in an attempt to optimize their profits margins. After reading the post, as well as articles on Nestle’s lack of business ethics, I, too, disagree with their corrupt practices.
In our Comm101 class, business ethics was a fundamental lesson taught from the beginning, and was stressed of high importance. It was emphasized that the correct business ethics be imbedded into our minds, so we wouldn’t be lured into following unethical ways by countless temptations in our future endeavours.
So how come a group of young students sitting in a lecture can understand the importance of being ethical, but large corporations cannot? Are the temptations of moneymaking truly that enticing?