Day: January 12, 2010

As most of us know, the learning of business ethics in the global economy is very important. It allows us to be aware of social responsibility and the environmental impacts that businesses have on a community. It teaches us about ethical and legal ramifications of decisions made in business.

Everytime when I hear people discuss about business ethics, I’d always thought, “isn’t business ethics common sense?” This statement, however, turned out to be misleading when I looked at the society in Vietnam. I then truly believe people with different learning environment have different principles on decision-making.

During my 6 years in Ho Chi Minh City, I’ve met different kinds of nationality and people. I have to say, certain Vietnamese did give me an different impression towards them. Their negligence towards business ethics has become an issue for companies in HCMC: high turnovers, lack of trustworthy and loyalty.

Besides, a Vietnamese, Anh Nguyen Hoang has written an essay about Business Ethics in Vietnam, which has supported my conception. The writer has also explained that business ethics were not taught properly in high school and universities.

Below is a brief introduction taken from www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com which is based on an animal rights group, PETA:

“KFC suppliers cram birds into huge waste-filled factories, breed and drug them to grow so large that they can’t even walk, and often break their wings and legs. At slaughter, the birds’ throats are slit and they are dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water—often while they are still conscious. It would be illegal for KFC to abuse dogs, cats, pigs, or cows in these ways.

KFC’s own animal welfare advisors have asked the company to take steps to eliminate these abuses, but KFC refuses to do so. Many advisors have now resigned in frustration.”

Animal slaughtering happens all around the world. Factories need to kill animals in order to provide food for us. But according to the video, it clearly shows the way KFC treats the chickens and I have no doubt in those stories at all, based on other videos of dog-slaughtering in China and cow-slaughtering in the US. Which is why I agree with Friedman’s statement: “there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” In terms of this statement, PETA claims that “it’s easy to follow the rules when there are no rules. Farmed animals are not covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act, and chickens are not covered by the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Thus, KFC suppliers can use farming practices that are inhumane to chickens without fear of criminal prosecution and can claim that they operate in compliance with the law.”

Another interesting statement found in www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com that emphasizes the ethical issue:
KFC’s Claim: “Prior to slaughter, birds are stunned so they are insensible to pain. … Chickens are stunned and killed before they are introduced into the defeathering tanks.”

The Reality: All chickens killed by KFC suppliers are conscious when their throats are cut. The electrified bath only renders birds immobile, not unconscious or insensible to pain. In many cases, the voltage in the water bath is too low, giving birds painful shocks and failing to cause immobility. These birds attempt to avoid the killing machine, which can result in severe mutilation or in the birds’ missing the blade completely, meaning they are conscious when they are sent into the scalding tank. The USDA reports that nearly 3 million chickens every year are scalded alive.

I guess I just didn’t expect KFC, a well-known international fast food company, to allow such procedure to happen in their factory. But overall, who are we (non-vegan) to criticize and to judge about animal cruelty? We are the ones who are asking for food, for meat, for chicken, for pork, for beef…