Question

*Long answer greatly appreciated

You are the product manager of a confectionery company that includes small plastic toy  with its chocolate sweets. Having met a potential Thai manufacturer of these toys at a trade fair in Europe, you now visit the company in  north eastern Thailand to finalize a two year supply contact. Arriving there and talking to the sales manager you are able to arrange a deal that supplies you with the toys at a third of the cost currently charged by your Portuguese supplier, but with equivalent quality and supply arrangements.

In order to check the reliability of the manufacturing process you ask the manager to show you around the place. You are surprised to find out that there is no real workshop on the premises. Rather the production process is organized in such a way that at 6:00 a.m., about thirty men show up at the company's gate, load large boxes with toy components on their carts or motor-scooters and take the material to their homes.

Your prospective supplier then takes you to one of these places where you see a large family, sitting in a garage-like barn assembling the toys. Not only are the mother and father doing the job, but also the couples six children aged  5 to 14, who are working busily, and from what you see, very cheerfully , together with the parents, while the grandmother is looking after the food in an adjacent room. In the evening around 8:00p.m., the day's work is done, the assembled toys are stored back in the boxes and taken back to the workshop of the company, where the men receive their payment for the finished goods. At the end of the week. the toys are shipped to the customers in Europe.

As you have never come across such a pattern of manufacturing, your Thai partner explains  to you that this is a very common and well-established practice in this part of the country, and one which guarantees a a good level of quality. Satisfied you tell the Thai manager that you will conclude the paperwork once you get back home, and you leave the company's offices happy in the knowledge of the cost saving you are going to make. and quite  confident that it will result in a healthy bonus for you at the end of the year.

On your way back , while buying some souvenirs for your 5 and 7 year old nieces at the airport, you suddenly start wondering if you would like to see them growing up the same way as the child workers that you have just employed to make your company's toys.

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Question

Once home you must decide to proceed with this deal or not.

Give two ethical issues you face.

What is your decision--yes or no--and why

Answer 1

ETHICAL ISSUES FACE:

1.One of the ethical issue found during the visit is the child workers who are working with the families to complete the order .It is very sad to see the condition of today's children ,at this age ,they should study and play rather than working day night to make some money but they are forced to do that ,in order to earn their living and support their families .But the strange part is that they are enjoying it to make those toys and that is the best part of the children ,they very well know how to find happiness in their work ,despite of so much difficulty,they define the real definition of happiness that for being happy,one doesn't need any money or luxury life ,he can still live a happy life without it.

2.Another issue encountered is that as a manager it is my responsibility to serve my company in best way through saving the cost of toys which would lead to high bonus to the employees of the company but the cost of these things is very high ,to get these benefits,I have to ignore the child workers ,their well being,their future,I have to compromise with their future which is ethically wrong .

As a manger i will proceed with this deal as this deal will not only benefit my entire company and my staff but also it is a source of livelihood for so many workers and their families,with this,they are able to have their two times meal .If i would snatch this deal from them ,I would also make them unemployed and ultimately their children would suffer.Hence,it is ethical to think about everyone .

On my part,I will send some chocolates to those children and provide them some books to read and study,so that they can along with work,they can work for their future as well.