Ethics The Nike ethical dilemma

The Nike Company is undoubtedly ne of the most established companies with a strong brand across the globe. It has a big name a wide coverage across the globe hence by 2007 it was estimated to have employed 30,000 people across the globe and had $16 billion in terms of revenues. They have most of their factories located in the Asian countries like Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Though it was predominantly a shoe manufacturer and seller, Nike diversified their dealings into other merchandise like the wears in tennis, badminton, baseball, golf, cricket among other sports (Nike Inc. 2010).

Nike has had several accusations over the decades of having their products being made in "sweatshop." This means they have employees who are underage working in deplorable conditions with meagre pay that can only be referred to as below subsistence. It has been accused and even documented evidence presented as being one of the corporations from wealthy countries, exploiting the poverty of poor of the emerging economies. This is a practice that is common among the foreign contractors that supply Nike with products, but still they have to take a direct responsibility on the same.

The ethical dilemma that unfolds ion the case of Nike is that the activities that it is accused of undertaking are not only illegal but fundamentally unethical. The...

With lower wages paid, they increased their profit margins yet that hurt the poor people who have nowhere else to work. The utilitarian approach would be such that the Nike Company considers ability to communicate well with customers, the ability to make largest number of shoes within a short time and al these are geared towards satisfying the need of the customers who are more than the workers in this case. The dilemma in this is that the lack of consideration of the labor input to reciprocate with proper salary, as well as the employment of underage children just because they came to seek the employment is not ethical by any standards. The fact the contractors take advantage of the age of the workers and underpay them, subject them to squalid working conditions and at times physically abuse them also presents an ethical dilemma. The biggest dilemma is weather Nike should continue receiving the goods that are made from sweatshops with all the overwhelming evidence or should it stop taking up goods from them and suffer losing clients due to lack of goods in their shops and outlets.
The industry that is predominantly involved in the Nike abuse of employees is the show making contractors that Nike has and those that make the balls. This is so because the shoes and the balls are hand made as compared to other sports wears…