Labor Practices Paper

Sweatshop labor is unfortunately still a common method used my companies around the world in order to be successful. It consists of making employees work in poor working conditions, such as unfair wages, unreasonable hours, and child labor. Many people do not realize that popular goods are made in sweatshop environments and are unaware that by buying these goods, they are supporting the company’s unethical behavior.

        Sweatshop labor is a cruel way of forcing people who are desperate for some type of income to work for a company that does not respect their employees. Many developing countries continue to make children between the ages of 5 and 14 work. Everyday goods such as clothes, shoes, toys, rugs, and chocolate are just a few examples of things we buy every day without realizing where it may be coming from. Employees in these environments are subject to abuse and close monitoring to make sure they do not get pregnant. Sweatshop labor prevents employees from receiving benefits, therefore employees cannot get pregnant and expect to have any time off work.         

        Even though sweatshop labor is completely unfair and unethical, so many companies are tempted to continue to maintain these horrible environments. Consumers are constantly demanding lower prices on their goods. When companies are faced with the pressure of reducing their prices, they have to find a way to cut costs elsewhere in the company. Unfortunately, this often consists of cutting wages and putting employees in poor working conditions. It is such an easy way to cut costs and is such a large amount of costs being cut that is incredibly beneficial and tempting in order for companies to remain competitive with other companies.

        There are so many companies that have this ethical perspective, that sweatshop labors are not a problem. They provide negative examples to competing companies, but because they think it is ethical and because they are being successful, they convince other companies to do the same. Especially when companies have been doing it for so long and have not been caught. They make it more tempting to companies to change their ethical perspective and starting using the same practices.

        The decisions a company makes on a daily basis has a huge impact on the company’s ethical environment. Companies that continue to remain ethically strong and create a supportive environment for their employees can easily avoid costly fines, a bad reputation, and getting involved in illegal activities. It is important for companies to stay focused on their goals and what kind of ethics the company was built on, as to not be influenced by other companies that are being incredibly unethical, even if they are being successful.