Business Ethics Analysis: Employment of Underage Workers by Nike
BUSN 6540 LEGAL & ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS
INDIVIDUAL ETHICS ANALYSIS
TO: XXXXXXXX
FROM: XXXXXXXXXX
RE: Business Ethics Analysis: Employment of Underage Workers by Nike
DATE: August 28, 2014
I. FACTS
For decades international companies, such as Nike Corporation (Nike), have been highly criticized for employing children under the age of 18 in overseas factories, resulting in an ethical dilemma. Nike manufactures a wide-range of sports products including shoes, apparel, and equipment in Vietnam. As permitted by Vietnamese law and labor regulations, Vietnamese subcontractors are permitted to employ children between the ages of 15 and 18 within their factories. This fact has infuriated children’s rights activists in the United States (U.S.) who feel that Nike is exploiting children in Vietnam to increase revenue. These activists protest the employment of children under the age of 18, and argue that children would have an opportunity to attend school and further their education if they are not forced to work. An opposing view of this argument is that children who accept employment within Vietnamese factories are doing so out of their own free will and feel fortunate to be earning an income to help contribute to the welfare of their family. Furthermore, secondary education in Vietnam is not free as in the U.S.; therefore, children who accept employment are most likely in a financial deficit and would likely not be able to afford to get a secondary education even if they had the time to attend. If Nike were to stop employing children under the age of 18, these children would be forced to resort to finding another source of income- likely earning a much smaller wage- in potentially harmful conditions with harsh elements such as prostitution or grueling agricultural farming. Taking both of these viewpoints into consideration, should Nike continue employing children under the age of 18 years in all of its overseas factories? II.
INDIVIDUAL ETHICS ANALYSIS
TO: XXXXXXXX
FROM: XXXXXXXXXX
RE: Business Ethics Analysis: Employment of Underage Workers by Nike
DATE: August 28, 2014
I. FACTS
For decades international companies, such as Nike Corporation (Nike), have been highly criticized for employing children under the age of 18 in overseas factories, resulting in an ethical dilemma. Nike manufactures a wide-range of sports products including shoes, apparel, and equipment in Vietnam. As permitted by Vietnamese law and labor regulations, Vietnamese subcontractors are permitted to employ children between the ages of 15 and 18 within their factories. This fact has infuriated children’s rights activists in the United States (U.S.) who feel that Nike is exploiting children in Vietnam to increase revenue. These activists protest the employment of children under the age of 18, and argue that children would have an opportunity to attend school and further their education if they are not forced to work. An opposing view of this argument is that children who accept employment within Vietnamese factories are doing so out of their own free will and feel fortunate to be earning an income to help contribute to the welfare of their family. Furthermore, secondary education in Vietnam is not free as in the U.S.; therefore, children who accept employment are most likely in a financial deficit and would likely not be able to afford to get a secondary education even if they had the time to attend. If Nike were to stop employing children under the age of 18, these children would be forced to resort to finding another source of income- likely earning a much smaller wage- in potentially harmful conditions with harsh elements such as prostitution or grueling agricultural farming. Taking both of these viewpoints into consideration, should Nike continue employing children under the age of 18 years in all of its overseas factories? II.