Inhumane Working Conditions: The Dangers of Unsafe Workplaces

The ethical issue in question is of a shoe-making organization that has numerous stores. Its widespread presence enables it to generate large streams of revenue that has made the company to be among the most profitable corporations. The organization also has a luxury and iconic brand image that has enabled it to increase its revenue consistently. However, our organization does not treat its employees in the right way. Various events that have occurred during the last year prove that it is not committed to improve the employee welfare. This suggests that the organization lacks clear and responsive policies on remuneration. I feel that the issue of remuneration is quite pertinent and needs urgent solutions. The dilemma is that the organization has lately been performing badly, thus leading to less profits. Increasing payment and perks for the employees is, therefore, difficult since it would affect the profits of the business. In addition, various employees who left the organization have written an open letter to the management with details on how they contracted an occupational disease but were not treated. For example, one of the workers had a miscarriage because of working for prolonged hours. Despite these hardships and suffering, the organization failed to compensate them. Apart from these hardships, the organization has stringent restrictions on the behavior of employees and this includes the need to get permission prior to getting a drink. There have also been strict restrictions on toilet time. Despite these restrictions being applied to all the employees, managers were not affected by them. The revelations paint a bad light about our company, and calls for the need to re-examine our organization’s policies. This paper seeks to examine the inhumane working conditions that have become rife in business and propose a solution or policy for managing the issue. 

The organization is grappling with a difficult business environment that has made it unprofitable for the last two years. During this period, our company has found it difficult to maintain the required working standards. The other dilemma is that the organization cannot acknowledge the way it has been treating its employees because this would lead to a backlash of our products. In case consumers become aware that the organization’s activities threaten the welfare and health of its employees, they may stop becoming loyal to its products. The concern is that consumers may begin viewing it as a sweatshop because the labor management practices have failed to align with its stated objectives. Despite various officials in the company coming out to condemn the reported inhumane treatment, the CEO has been non-committal on the steps taken by the organization to ensure that we remain a promoter of humane working conditions. The CEO has privately raised concern that the organization is at crossroads. The main reason for this revelation is that the company cannot afford to ruin its reputation that it has built for the last two decades. The other dilemma is that more employees may continue revealing the intrigues in the company if nothing changes. In addition, there is likelihood that a large number of the employees may begin resigning and leaving their current duties. The consequence of this could be moral panic in the industry that our company has problems. In case these employees decide to reveal the problems to the media, there is likelihood that our reputation may become worse. Apart from a bad reputation, the company could face numerous lawsuits that may further affect its image and returns. It appears that whichever decision the company takes, it has to deal with various ethical issues and dilemmas. Despite this, it has to take a decision that is beneficial to all its stakeholders including employees and its interests in equal measure. 

The significance of the ethical dilemmas is that the company has to make a decision but ensure that it remains ethical. Failure to acknowledge that the revelations made by some of the employees about the inhumane treatment were true may make some employees angry. The consequence could be that some of the employees may decide to say the truth to the media or investigative agencies. At the same time, acknowledging these events could result in dire consequences such that consumers may begin resenting against the organization’s products. The company is concerned that its integrity may also be tainted during a period when it is experiencing poor performance and increased competition. Consequently, there is a need for the company to deploy an ethical framework that can provide systematic guidance on how to approach the issue. 

According to the stakeholder theory, stakeholders are mainly influenced by their interests. Consequently, the positions taken by the stakeholders on the working conditions’ issue in the organization are determined by their interests in the organization. The main stakeholders affected by the issue are the government, community, customers, suppliers, employees, creditors, directors and managers, and the shareholders. The major interest of the shareholders is profit growth, dividends, and share of the price growth (Freeman, Wicks, & Parmar, 2004). The power and influence they have is the election of the directors. There is a likelihood, therefore, that they are interested in decisions that only bring in profit and higher dividends. Because of the power they wield, there is a chance that they will affect the position held by the managers and directors. Creditors including banks and other financial institutions are mainly interested in their principal and interest being paid. They also have interest in the company maintaining a positive credit rating. In case these interests are not met, they can enforce loan agreements and withdraw banking facilities. The company has to ensure that any of the decision it makes does not violate the interests of its creditors (Freeman et al., 2004). The organization’s directors are mainly interested in wages and salaries, status, security of their jobs, share options, motivation and job satisfaction. Since the remuneration conditions have not affected them, they do not have any problem as long as their status remains. However, they could support other decisions in case they protect their interests. The power they have is that they have sufficient information and can make decisions. 

Perhaps, employees are the stakeholders that are mainly influenced by the ethical issue being reviewed. The main interests are wages and salaries, job motivation and satisfaction and job security. The influences they have are staff turnover, quality of the services provided and industrial action (Laplume et al., 2008). This power is detrimental for the longevity of the company. For example, staff turnover could negatively affect the image of the company. Similarly, industrial action by employees could lead to the image that the organization has failed in taking care of its employees. Poor service quality may result in lower brand loyalty and satisfaction. The combination of the power they hold and the major interests makes it crucial for the organization to ensure that it addresses their interests. Furthermore, suppliers are mainly interested in quick payments, long-term contracts, and higher purchasing. They determine the prices, quality, and availability of the products. The company has to develop a great balancing act that considers these interests and power. 

On the other hand, customers are interested in reliable quality, great service, availability of the products and value for money. The decisions made by the other stakeholders could influence the service provided by the employees, thus determine whether customers will remain loyal or not. Since employees, in this case, are demoralized, there is the probability that they will not offer great service, thus reducing customer loyalty to the brand. The major powers held by customers are loyalty, revenue, and word of mouth recommendation that acts as a way of marketing for the company (Harrison & Wicks, 2013). There is the likelihood that these may not be experienced if the current ethical situation continues persisting. The community's interests are the protection of the environment, availability of local jobs and local effect of the ethical issue. Because many of the employees in the company are from the local community, there is the likelihood that the poor remuneration affects the community negatively. The organization has to fix these issues for it to continue operating in the community seamlessly. Finally, the government’s major interests are legal operations, jobs and tax receipts. Its regulations cover the aspect of remuneration, thus could influence the decisions the company will have to make. The combination of the various stakeholders’ interests brings about dilemma since the company may not be able to address all their concerns. Failure to meet any of the interests also has its consequences. Consequently, the company faces a daunting task in ensuring that its next steps resonate with all the stakeholder interests. 

The model selected for this case is the Potter’s Box. The model was coined by Ralph Potter and is detrimental for effective ethical decision-making. It is founded on the concept that ethical dilemmas are attributed to conflicts arising from values that people hold, principles they use for making decisions and duties they have for others. One has to follow four quadrants or steps to make an ethical decision: facts, values, loyalties, and principles (Bowen, 2004). Facts entail definition of the situation by examining the available information. In the case of the situation in the company, the CEO is aware that there are cases of inhumane working conditions in the plant. He understands that the management is not affected by the problem. However, he is unaware of the number of employees affected by the issue. In this step, the CEO should collect all information regarding the inhumane working conditions and the status of the problem. He should understand that it is crucial to list all the facts to have a good understanding of the problem. At this stage, he also has to remain neutral while gathering all the facts to identify the ethical dilemma that he is trying to solve. 

In the second quadrant, the major focus is on the values. It entails a description of what someone values most to determine the best way of evaluating the potential actions. Values are aspects that one holds as significant from a personal perspective (Backus & Ferraris, 2004). They are crucial for enabling people to determine what is right, wrong, good or bad. In the case of the organization, there is need to evaluate whether its culture and objectives advocate for inhumane working conditions. There is also need to determine whether integrity, honesty, fairness, justice, truthfulness, and openness are values that the organization values. Ascertaining these values will be crucial for enabling the organization to defend its behavior. When it reaches a conclusion, the decision should not be contrary to the values it holds. Apart from the personal values, moral, logical and professional values should also be evaluated by the CEO to get a clear image of what the organization stands for. 

The third quadrant entails examining principles through a scrutiny of the organization’s values. In this step, various systems of ethics are used to facilitate the development of various possible actions. Some of the systems that can be used are the Principle of Utility by Mill, Categorical Imperative by Kant and the Doctrine of the Mean by Aristotle (Backus & Ferraris, 2004). Kant’s Categorical Imperative provides insight that the organization is morally obligated to do what is ethically right. In this regard, acknowledging that the organization failed to ensure that the working conditions of employees were maintained could be a step in the appropriate direction of ensuring that the choices the company makes can become universal law. The Principle of Utility emphasizes that an act is deemed as morally right depending on the contribution it makes towards a desirable end (Tota & Shehu, 2012). It is about making a decision that will result in the happiness of the largest number of people. In the case, the people here refer to the stakeholders and would imply that the organization makes decisions that consider all the stakeholders. The only way that this could be attained is through the use of a multi-pronged strategy. The recommended strategy would be acknowledging the problem, communicating it to the company stakeholders and the media and making appropriate steps to amend the wrongs it has committed. It would be the best way of seeking the happiness of the highest number of individuals. Finally, the option of Communitarianism could be considered. It emphasizes on the need for social justice as the guiding moral value. Social justice in this case would be ensuring that the welfare of employees is guaranteed. The company should come up with policies that enhance social justice. From the three options, it is worth noting that all the solutions point towards honesty, social justice and employee welfare. 

The last step is about loyalties and ascertains to whom the CEO should be loyal to in the current situation. The four most significant loyalties are one’s profession, the employer, society and self (Tota & Shehu, 2012). In the case, the CEO should be loyal to the employer, his profession, himself and the society. By being loyal to the four parties, there could be dilemmas involved because of the vested interests. Being loyal to the employer means that the CEO should prioritize on the interests of the employer, but this could relegate the interests of the employees. Perhaps, the best way of making a viable decision is by being loyal to the employer and the profession. Loyalty to the two could result in new facts. This will be crucial for the development of the corporate policy. 

The organization should lead efforts in the development and implementation of codes of ethics to create a detailed set of expectations and norms regarding ethical standards. The code should be applicable to all the stores and branches globally. Some of the industries that have successfully deployed such codes are electronics and toys. The code should also mandate all the stores and branches of the organization to adopt ethical principles and incorporate them into their management policies and systems (Kaptein & Schwartz, 2008). In addition, they should also be contained within the internal review processes. It is disheartening that a large organization like this one can stay for such a long period without developing a code of ethics that can guide employees and other stakeholders about their expected behavior. The development of such a code would play a crucial role in developing a culture that will permeate in the entire organization and change the management of affairs. To the owners, a responsive code of ethics will improve the reputation and profitability of the company. For the management, the code will provide a platform for making ethical decisions in the company. Employees, on the other hand, will have a solid platform for airing their grievances whenever they feel that they are aggrieved by a certain situation. Customers and investors will become more confident about the steps the organization is taking to enhance its longevity. Creditors will also express their confidence about the course taken by the company. They will acknowledge that the company is becoming more transparent and accountable to its stakeholders. From this discussion, there is the likelihood that the corporate policy recommended will benefit or positively affect all the stakeholders. 

The strategy that will be used is one that is Results-Driven and Multi-Channeled. The strategy will aim to deliver results such as ensuring that employees’ welfare is prioritized. The results should be measurable and the company should understand what the current employees need to know in order to effectively carry out their tasks. The strategy will also enable the organization to interact with clients in an effective way and act as ambassadors even when they are outside the company. This will play a detrimental role in ensuring that the organization becomes not only a learning organization but an environment that many workers dream to work (Kliatchko, 2005). Also, the strategy will ensure that messages are delivered many times and in numerous ways to have the most effect. Employee communication preferences often differ. Consequently, various messages need varying methods to ensure that messages do not get lost. The use of multiple channels for communicating will enhance the chances for the communication to reach all organizational stakeholders. When such messages are delivered, there is little likelihood that employees will re-experience inhumane working conditions. The strategy recommended will be crucial for meeting the audience needs in a timely manner. 

The major impediment is that the strategy needs a structured mechanism for delivering messages. The failure of any department in the company to pass the intended message would impede the flow of information and affect operations. The second limitation is that some of the employees or departments may be unwilling to pass the message because it negatively affects them and their reputation (Kliatchko, 2005). The first strategy of mitigating these negative consequences is ensuring that the organization has an open communication environment. Such an environment would ensure that all organizational members are free to share ideas and feedback at all levels. If the leaders of our company are committed towards open communication, they should create an environment of trust that could become the cornerstone for success. The second strategy that the company could use for monitoring and enforce compliance is ensuring that it is inclusive. Steps need to be taken to make sure that all the employees are involved in the decisions influencing their work. Employee involvement should become a key pillar for any form of communication. The other strategies that should be deployed are training, incentivizing ethical behavior, and increasingly deploy the technology. 

Overall, the major ethical issue that this paper sought to analyze was the inhumane working conditions in the company. The main dilemma from this issue is that there is the likelihood that it will ruin the image of the company in case the management acknowledges that some of the employees were exposed to poor working conditions and pay. An analysis of the stakeholder interests suggests that the company’s decision must consider the diverse needs of stakeholders. However, it is a daunting task for them because some of the interests could be violated. The Potter’s Box has been selected as the ethical decision-making framework that can address the problem in a systematic way. Consisting of four major steps, the model provides an insight on the various options that the company can consider. There is also need for the company to develop a code of ethics that can guide its operations. The Results-Driven and Multi-Channel communication strategy have been identified as the most responsive for this particular case. Inclusivity and openness are compliance mechanisms that the company can use to ensure that the code of ethics is adhered to. The analysis has provided deep insight that an organization needs to conduct an evaluation of any situation using an ethical model to devise mechanisms for holistically addressing it. 

References 

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Freeman, R. E., Wicks, A. C., & Parmar, B. (2004). Stakeholder theory and “the corporate objective revisited”. Organization Science , 15 (3), 364-369. 

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Kaptein, M., & Schwartz, M. S. (2008). The effectiveness of business codes: A critical examination of existing studies and the development of an integrated research model. Journal of Business Ethics , 77 (2), 111-127. 

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Laplume, A. O., Sonpar, K., & Litz, R. A. (2008). Stakeholder theory: Reviewing a theory that moves us. Journal of Management , 34 (6), 1152-1189. 

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