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The vast majority of Americans are shocked by reports of brutal conditions in overseas factories. The U. S. Itself has a proud practice of unions and human rights groups that work to prevent such abuses like child labor, refusal to pay overtime pay, exposure to poisonous chemicals, and unsafe working environments. Every day, people from other countries come to America for a chance to work hard in return for better treatment, higher paying jobs than the jobs they can find in their native country.
Consumer demands affect a company’s business decision in many cases. Fashion being so fast paced with many companies competing for the global dollars. Every company has cut prices which in turn has them searching for ways to reduce labor costs. Unfortunately the first thing companies do is outsource and turn to sweatshops for cheap fast labor in order to make a profit and to be competitive in the market. Different ethical perspectives guide ethical decision making in the right direction, wrong direction, and walking a fine line direction.
Some companies use ethical decision making as a tool to keep their company out of trouble by using proper moral judgment. While other companies could care less if they are being ethical. The ones with unethical practices will do anything to make a dollar. There are also companies that walk a fine line when it comes to sweatshops. They usually know what regulations they can bend but not break. All in all the last two are unethical for sweatshop workers. A company influences their ethical environment by the policies and regulations they follow.
If a company provides pay for labor, pays overtime, and provides workers with a safe work environment it’s safe to say they are using good moral judgment. If a company decides to let bad ethical influences guide their moral judgment. The term sweatshop would apply. Am against sweatshops. Making money while treating people unfair and exposing them to unsafe work conditions and hazardous chemicals is morally wrong and inhumane. How can corporate America sleep at night knowing they are getting rich off the poor? Slave labor is the wrong labor!