Workplace Ethics: What You Need to Know

Ideals, Effects, and Consequences at Stake 

The issue at stake in the case study is the lives of the children who sniff glue in Central American countries. The H.B Fuller Company pledged to stop selling Resistol brand, but they are still in the market. Every company has a moral obligation to the population it serves. Accordingly, organizations should ensure that they meet the principles of business sustainability (Shaw, 2011). One of the principles emphasizes the moral responsibility of organizations to the communities that they serve. In effect, Fuller’s moral responsibility in the case is to foster the creation of a mechanism that would prevent the illegal distribution of their products. For instance, its market in Central America has proved that it relies on the glue as an intoxicating element; thus, they take part in glue sniffing. Although the company alludes that, it cannot be morally responsible for the actions of all its clients; it can act by stopping the distribution of its products and instead add substances in its products to make not consumable for humans.

Have any moral rights been violated 

In this regards, they are two sides of the coin in this scenario. The H.B Fuller Company have violated certain moral duties. The fact that they lied that they will stop manufacturing Resistol glue resulting from the board decision which they eventually ignored is ethically wrong (Richards, 2015). Using such move as publicity stance was not right as lives are at stake. On the other side, the purpose of glue the company manufactures is for binding cars, cigarette diaper, but it was not indicated for human consumption. Therefore it might not be the company’s moral duty to stop the children from sniffing glue. However, in my view, since they are the manufacturers of the glue, it should be their corporate social responsibility to see that the glue is not being used for other purposes other than binding. Also, it may take the educative front to make the kids understand the impact of sniffing glue on the health as well as rehabilitate those children who are already into sniffing glue. Donating money to charities may not be enough as it can be a form of publicity for the company since it is their product causing harm and the company is reluctant to change the product formula, it is now its full responsibility to ensure that they reverse the situation.

Utilitarian Recommendation 

The utilitarian approach emphasizes the need to take part in actions that support the happiness of the majority (Richards, 2015). Fuller is more concerned with its profitability than the health implications for children who are sniffing glue. Taking actions by stopping the production of the glue will benefit the community; however this action will leave the company dissatisfied since they are bound to lose revenue from the product bearing in mind the Resistol brand is doing well in Central America. Instead, the company has chosen to focus on the loss that it would undergo by staying out of business for not producing the glue. The utilitarian view will assume utmost happiness for the both side, to achieve these, the company will be forced to invest more in the Central American community (Shaw, 2011). They can do these by putting strategies in place to reverse the sniffing glue situation for instance building rehabilitation centers for those already affected, coming up with a campaign and more educative programs and forums which can be done in partnership with the government. Alongside doing all these, the company will continue running its business operations smoothly in Central America, thereby continue making profit along with maintaining its publicity in morally upright ways.

Kantian Recommendation 

A Kantian approach would take a deontological viewpoint of the subject matter (Shaw, 2011). The approach focuses more on the impacts of the actions of an individual rather than from the perspective of the majority to be affected. The Kantian view would instruct the manufacturer to continue with its production, given that its major interest is to make a profit. However, it would still emphasize that the company do not stop production of glue. Rather, it will encourage it to find an alternative method that would help stop the children’s addiction. However, if it does not care about the children and is only interested in profit making, then Kant would agree with the company to continue selling its products and hence not change any of its ingredients to the disadvantage of the children.

Accordingly, Kant’s approach to the issue one would argue that its products specify their roles and are not for consumption. The company would argue that it has no moral authority to stop people from purchasing the glue whose main aim is to bind items and not for consumption (Davies, 2016). In this view, stopping the sale of the glue in Central America is not a guarantee that the children in the region will stop finding alternative drugs to misuse. Hence, the company does not violate any of its obligations as the society wants to insinuate. The fact that the firm is making efforts to replace the Resistol formula is adequate moral action to demonstrate its commitment to ensuring that it helps the children deal with the addiction facing them.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, companies’ actions should have positive impacts on society. Accordingly, after the company was warned regarding the implications of its products, it would have taken the initiative of stopping the distribution of its product until it gets a viable solution. Unfortunately, stopping the sale of the company’s product will, in turn, affect the business prospects of the organization. It is the company’s responsibility to ensure that its product sales meet client expectation. Changing a formula of the product may also weaken the overall quality of its product, thereby creating dissatisfied customers due to the altered quality of the glue.

References

Davies, P. W. (2016). Current issues in business ethics . Routledge.

Richards, N. (2015). Intellectual privacy: Rethinking civil liberties in the digital age . Oxford University Press, USA.

Shaw, W. H. (2011).  Business ethics: A textbook with cases . Seventh Edition . Cengage Learning