The located article is The Economic and Ethical Implications of Living Wages (Konigsburg, 2017). The author of this article argues that businesses are obliged to pay wages to the employees as a moral responsibility of ensuring that a right relationship is established. Additionally, the article holds that increased productivity, morale, innovation and quality are some of the economic benefits harnessed (Konigsburg, 2017). Based on this, the most applicable ethics theory is the utilitarianism theory. According to this theory, the rightness of an action is based on the consequences of the action. When applied in this case, the overall consequence of implementing payment of living wages is the establishment of the right relationship among the employers and the workers.
Its limitation is that it ignores one’s own interest but considers the overall interests of others. For instance, companies may be unable to individually implement paying living wages to workers as the new higher wages level may be priced out of the job market for lower-skilled workers. This implies that such workers would benefit from living wages but add no significant value to the company. This means that such an approach will force organizational leaders either pay the living wages based on the value of the job or reduce the number of such low skilled employees (Lammam, 2014).
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In general, ethics in the provision of all employees with living wage has a role of ensuring the principle of dignity. In this way, it advocates that there be fairness in income and ensures that there is sharing of creativity and responsibility in the labor process. However, legislating living wage and minimum wage has several negative effects. They include relocations of businesses, increased unemployment, greater production costs and increased burden of work as a result of understaffing (Fairris et al. 2015).
Currently, members of the ethical trading initiative are committed toward paying living wages (Lammam, 2014). However, although it is ethical for employers to provide a living wage for all employees regardless of the value of the job, it has also an economic impact. Therefore, in my opinion, business should be responsible for providing a living wage to employees based on the job’s value. This is because the benefits of ensuring that living wages are paid regardless of job’s value may be outweighed by the additional cost of individuals who would be cut off as a way of compensation.
References
Fairris, D., Runsten, D., Briones, C., & Goodheart, J. (2015). Examining the evidence: The impact of the Los Angeles living wage ordinance on workers and businesses.
Konigsburg, J. A. (2017). The Economic and Ethical Implications of Living Wages. Religions , 8 (4), 74.
Lammam C., (2014). The Economic Effects of Living Wage Laws. Fraser institute
