Business ethics broadly refers to the moral and ethical principles that govern the way in which companies and firms solve problems that they face and in this article, we would realise various forms of business ethics coming into question. Seven companies mentioned in the article were under the spotlight for their unethical production practices.
Do you think that a company should employ all legal cost cutting measures just to increase their profits? From the company’s “profit-driven’ point of view, yes I would. However as a human being, I would not, because in the long run, the negative externalities outweigh the positive externalities. For example, the clothes or shoes from these stores will cost the same while the companies enjoy increased profits but the environment on the other hand would have suffered. The untreated waste would have damaged the rivers, the land and possibly being detrimental to human life causing harm to the “immune and endocrinological systems as well as the liver”. Is it ethical to harm another person’s life for your own gain? I don’t think so. Nonetheless, these companies would now try to improve their waste management record due to the bad publicity they are receiving.
In my opinion, government intervention always helps in situations like this when the companies are not bounded by the law to behave “ethically”.
A Greenpeace campaigner takes a sample of yellow-colored waste water (in the morning) from the discharge pipe at the Youngor Textiles Factory, in Yinzhou district, Ningbo. Youngor is a major apparel and textiles brand in China.
Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/us-chinapollution-greenpeace-idUSTRE76C5I420110713