Ethical Challenges
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In every society, some norms and values guide people on how they behave or operate. In this case, ethics serve as a system of moral principles affecting people’s decisions and how they lead their lives. It is important to highlight ethics that profoundly concerned with what is good for individuals and society. Ethics subjects people to various dilemmas or ethical challenges such as how to live a good life, rights, responsibilities, good and bad (moral decisions), and right or wrong language. Ethic concept has been derived from a philosophic, religion, and cultures infusing critical debate such as professional conduct, human rights, and abortion. Ethics are useful in practice if they affect how human beings behave with philosophers arguing if an individual realizes that it would be morally good to act or do something, then it would be irrational for an individual to act otherwise. With ethics focusing on people acting morally in everything they do, it continues to influence the decision made by corporates and government institutions, depending on how they believe is right. For instance, in the business sector, ethical values have incited controversial debates on whether the decision taken by leadership uphold the moral standards set by our society. In this case,, people or organizations experience ethical challenges since what is right or wrongise relativ,e depending on an individual perspective. Ethical challenges require an individual to an organization to choose between the available alternatives that must be evaluated as either ethical or unethical. With this understanding of ethical challenges, it remains appropriate to reflect and explore ethical challenges a corporate such as Walmart has faced in the last 5-10 years or in the future.
Walmart Company serves as one of the major employer in the U.S, and despite making the right decisions that have led to its growth in the market, it faces ethical issues regarding compensation of workers, workers exploitation, gender discrimination, against workers, and workers health care. Some of the factors that demonstrate ethical challenges the company has experienced range from several lawsuits it has encountered in the recent past as workers and other stakeholders demonstrate their dissatisfaction. In 2013, the company was sued by the National Labor Relations Board due to low wages. NLRB highlighted the violation of workers’ rights as Walmart exploited foreign workers with low wages that were below minimum while denying workers overtime. NLRB highlighted the company was pushing the workers union for it to exploit workers effectively. For instance, workers from Bangladesh worked from 7.45 am to 10.00 pm without off days for six months. The company was pressuring workers not to engage in strikes with others unethically disciplined for participating against the wishes of the management. The decision to recruit workers on a part-time basis guarantees no pay benefits in the future, and the decision has not augured well in the public domain. The company decision has resulted due to the ethical challenge it faces. For instance, the leadership or management has to look at the huge impact a decision might have in the future. The company decisions are heavily influenced by rigorous competition in the market and the intent to satisfy consumer utility (Abrams, 2017). The company must make a profit as it focuses on remaining relevant in the market. The image the company has continued to create in the market and has resonated well with consumers revolves around cheap and affordable compared to its rivals. The strategy has worked well with many clients as it hosts all types of clients, making it popular in the market compared to others (Abrams, 2017).
The Walmart issues have been solved through lawsuits, and thus improvements remain critical to saving the company from huge losses. Some of the improvements the company requires to uphold include adhering to some of the issues that have become a norm to the workers such union. It needs to adhere to the set Acts such as low wage Act, among others that focus on streamlining or guiding the employee-employer relationship. The issue of part-time employment and off-day issues need to be improved to ensure the company image insinuates a positive attitude that every person wants to be associated with or related within the long run.
Irrespective of cheapness, the company has to make a profit, and this has triggered issues with many stakeholders, specifically the employees. The company cannot sell cheap and manage to provide adequate or desired working conditions for the workers. On the issue of gender discrimination, the company reflects on those who best suit various tasks in a business. The company might prefer men than women due to their effectiveness in several areas that range from lifting heavy loads and loading and offloading. The company takes a decision that suits their goals and heightens their chances to expand their market share as opposed to an option that might favor employees (Talaulicar, 2012). The company has faced ethical challenges when trying to make a critical decision between employees and customers who serve as critical stakeholders. In most cases, the company has chosen the consumer’s welfare as opposed to employees, and it has not augured well with unions and NLRB. The company has continuously faced lawsuits as employees challenge some of the decisions the company has chosen against the laid down rules or laws regarding employees. In Pennsylvania, the company had to compensate employees for violating the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act. The company parted with $140.8 million as compensation for the workers. In 2015, the company faced another lawsuit on allegation it denied health insurance to same-sex spouses in Massachusetts. It was a clear violation of the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and it had to part with $7.5 million for discriminating employees based on sexual orientation (Gereffi & Christian, 2011).
Factors that protected the company from ethical challenges in the past, and it can protect in the future include adhering to the set laws and adjusting accordingly. In the past, the economic situation was favorable for the company’s strategy with upheld about low prices and making it the best choice for every person. However, things have changed with Acts about low wages and employee rights adopted in the country. Thus, the company has to acknowledge these factors since people have been using the mistake the company makes by remaining rigid with one approach that subjects them to the inability to meet its mission through its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Ethical challenges can negatively impact the charitable cause the company has adopted, with the image deteriorating in the public domain. With continuous lawsuits associated with the company’s violation of employee rights, many people may opt to avoid its contribution to charitable events. The company’s internal approach focuses on promoting community through charitable events, particularly during those affected by natural disasters and famine. In the case of an external approach that focuses on improving the livelihoods of many through job opportunities, reducing poverty initiatives, and enhancing community support might be greatly impacted. People may be disinterested in job opportunities or community support programs as they respond to allegations or images of the company with a negative attitude.
Poverty as a social cause has a huge impact on employees and organizations at large. For instance, the company focus on eradicating poverty in the community by participating in various charitable events and providing products at affordable prices, workers, and the image of the organization has paid deeply. The workers have to be paid low to enable the company to manage to propel some programs that can eradicate poverty (Harrison & Freeman, 2015). For the image, the company has to deal with many lawsuits where it has violated some critical laws in its attempt to sustain and build an environment that is suitable for all the consumers.
References
Abrams, R. (2017, June I). Walmart Is Accused of Punishing Workers for Sick Days. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/business/walmart-workers-sick-days.html
Gereffi, G., & Christian, M. M. (2011). The Impacts of Wal-Mart: The Rise and Consequences of the World’s Dominant Retailer. Annual Review of Sociology, 35(1).
Harrison, J. S., & Freeman, E. R. (2015). Stakeholder Theory As an Ethical Approach to Effective Management: applying the theory to multiple contexts. REVIEW Of BuSINESS MANAGEMENT, 17(55), 858-869.
Talaulicar, T. (2012). Global retailers and their corporate codes of ethics: the case of Wal-Mart in Germany. The Service Industries Journal, 29(1), 47-58.