Nike Case: From Sweatshops to Leadership in Employment Practices

Do you think Nike is doing enough to improve conditions in its contract factories? What might they do differently or better?

As I said they should have enforced the code of conduct from the beginning. And afterward they should have spent more on real progress in corporate responsibility than in communication. According to the Business ethics magazine now they are doing a good job. Maybe it is not the facts which are important but the increase. Of course there is still a lot to do. They have erased all shocking facts (for instance discrimination, extremely low wage, unsafe and unhealthy working condition). And they have implemented an efficient way of control.

But it is just a question of differences between third world and western world. The huge differences were shocking for the western consumers. They really reduce this difference in their factories. But Nike is still not seen as the perfect company. When Nike will make an improvement in their factory which is not in the western world then they will be seen as the leader in an ethical point of view.

How would you rate Nike's improvements?

The improvements of Nike were very slow at the beginning and they took a long time to react. The image of the company was maybe one of the worst in the world. After less than 20 years they are considered as one of the most ethical company in the world. That is a huge improvement. But maybe we can argue that as usual they spend a lot of money in communication and that in this case it was a success. Maybe the company is less ethical that we think, it is always hard to say and analyze because they spend so much money for the communication. They wouldn't do it if it was useless (spend on communication).

The willing to be a model for the sector in code of conduct for factories is a good idea. Furthermore we can notice that even from problem of corporate responsibility physical innovation