Introduction
To begin with, it is known that morality is a base on which society can put its ability to struggle with probable dangers. People do not mind while building several plants the hazards which can be caused to the personnel and, furthermore, to the people living somewhere nears the destinations of unsafe-for-life enterprises, and, as a result, there is a great danger for the environment.
Along with developing the economic state of things people forget about the risk of shortening people’s life by means of exhausts and other terrific factors which in return lead to the decline of the environment and well-being of the society. This paper has one aim according to two cases and presents original reasoning as to the social problems and their effects in different spheres of men’s activity.
Case 1
In the first part of the paper, I intend to argue that sniffing glue taken by children of Honduras under the conditions described in the case with H. B. Fuller Company is morally indefensible. The thing is that the products of H. B. Fuller have nothing to argue because the working process is under strict control. The subsidiary of the company situated in Honduras is convenient to gain more profits for the corporation with headquarters in the United States. Of course, it is because of low-paid people’s resources. This standpoint seems to be very circumspect in the situation of widespread globalization processes.
The quality of the glue, named not coincidentally Resistol, is high and has special advantages for the shoe industry not only in Honduras but also worldwide due to its characteristics of waterproof and resistance to temperatures. It may have several standards and improvements on the world exhibitions in this sphere. Moreover, the company tends to give people of Honduras, namely those living where this Chemical Plant is situated, work with additional bonuses to be so important for employees, because Honduras is known to be one of the poorest countries of Latin America. If there is work, so the people can earn money for themselves and their families to survive in the cruel world of constant needs and poverty.
This goal, as it is seen, promotes the popularity of the company within the population and has a strong emphasis on the crucial significance of the policy it provides. So logically there should be no contradictions of the company’s role in the well-being of the Honduran society.
The points mentioned above are emphasized with the company’s work strived at the charity programs for poor children and families who need the attention of the high and mighties. One proverb says: if you want to change the world – begin with yourself. Fortunately, the company follows these steps on the way to betterment within the social affairs of Honduras. The theme about children was directly touched upon when around the country appeared the information of children’s cases of sniffing glue made by H. B. Fuller.
This fact cannot but irritate the activity of the society and mass media to strengthen the irresponsibility of the company in terms of such an ill-developed strategy of the pre-caution side of the issue. Do not they mention such aspects when realizing the plan of additional requirements for the purchasers? This is still an unexplained feature of the problem. Children are the future of every community which tends to manifest their power, competence, and resources: physical, mental, or ethical. When negative factors concern the most progressive part of the society it is a signal of its further decline.
With regards to business relationships with communities, it is clear enough that the purpose of business is to form and maintain a system or structure being efficient in obtaining more profits for its owners, stakeholders, or investors. Greed for money is a stimulus for ones who are directly connected with sharing profits and great harm for others confronting with the negative prospects and effects of enterprises. Such misbalance creates a model where human beings on the whole lose.
Only a small group of people pretend to be satisfied with their harmful activities and actions. As it is considered when building something people should also address the desires of the social organizations and communities at all. It goes without saying that if a definite company or companies tend to strengthen the policy of so-called good effect on people when producing goods to present danger for them several measures should be determined before making business. This argument leads to work out the problem of H. B. Fuller. The utilitarian theory raises the core elements of resolving such issues at their beginning in the best way possible.
Thus, the ethical part of the question matters much. It is a cornerstone when people interested in the issue decide to have more positive and less negative outcomes in order to regulate rational affairs for better functioning of the huge and important processes in the society. That is why H. B. Fuller should have evaluated the hardship of the problem with some glimpses on the social frameworks within the development of children who are not involved in rather interesting measurements, such as sport, educational or cultural programs, and events to make children fond of useful activities.
Alas! The situation reminds about the fact of human manner first to do and then to think over details of what he had done. The moral aspect goes higher than the universally accepted principles of humane behavior in business activities. The thing touches on the question of whether it is worth doing or, as it would be right to follow, first consider the ethics of one being entrepreneur or director of a big and influential company.
Human beings should grab special attention on the cases of unfair and cruel as well as harmful impacts of those having been obliged to follow the law and an approach which intends social figures to unmask the real inclinations and stimuli of the principals responsible for providing current company’s policy at the local level. In the textbook by Tom L. Beauchamp and others there is a statement that can give more emphasis on the issue aspects:
The businessmen believe that they are defending free enterprise when they declaim that business is not concerned “merely” with profit but also with promoting desirable “social” ends; that business has a “social conscience” and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment… (Beauchamp 50)
Thus, discourse about the concept of morality in business is trendy nowadays so that to make emphasize a company’s ability to compete. For example, in the United Kingdom, particularly all consumer goods are divided into fair and ordinary ones. The main message of such division is to support people of poor countries where a product was done or originates in their harsh and low-paid work. Undoubtedly, fair products are more expensive for consumers.
To sum up, H. B. Fuller did not take into account so needful and reasonable factors appropriate for further economic growth. The factor of people’s health working at or living within easy reach of the company coincides straightforwardly with an increase of profits of the company as well as its encouragement within masses and world authorities. Unfortunately, H. B. Fuller was lack of necessary efforts to prevent such dramatic harm amongst the people of Honduras.
Case 2
The second part of this essay deals with the ethical, racial, and cultural approaches to voting rights in the state of Michigan. The theme concerns a striking problem of the US society in terms of incapable of solution issue. The main idea of it is to find out as many arguments as possible against segregation on grounds of people’s color, origination and ethnos which one represents in the country.
The common sense tells many people to urge their activity in favor of social reforms and restructures, but the reality contradicts this approach by means of inexplicable intentions of people to measure the borders of their interests regarding to others. The ancient saying follows the idea that people of one community should not network with other ones. Predecessors in this context meant the spiritual side of the matter and were inclined to save their beliefs from invasion of other tribes or peoples, so that to work out and inherit them to the next generations.
Time passed since that epoch in the history of mankind, many ideas crossed each other with direct arguments in for or against some phenomena in the society. They were supported and emphasized by many philosophers and scientists. It goes without saying that the colonization policy of many most developed countries in the fifteenth till the twentieth centuries provoked unfair attitudes from the side of European people towards same people but with another racial, cultural, and religious background.
Nowadays the situation rather differs in the extent of humane values. The point is that many of the present day’s people following the intentions of their forerunners are still trying to figure out the priority and minority of this or that nation or race. As the case under analysis outlines the problem of preferences when considering the right for vote must not concern the framework of this or that human being.
First of all, remembering the times of establishing American state power one point should be taken under advisement. It concerns the idea of puritans chase from Europe to found a community of people acting and behaving by the laws of God. The Founding Fathers included such statements in the state organization and even in the Constitution. Moreover, the opposite side of every single dollar for some reason indicates the pure complex of thoughts and attitudes of American people.
This point is rather controversial in contrast with the real things provided in the society of the United States of America. The rights of civilians are reflected in the main law of the country and here no factors can oppose this statement in its power. Neither one’s prejudices nor the placement of the state with its peculiarities can give more reasons than the constitutional norms.
Before applying to the above mentioned thesis it is vital to recall in mind the ethical principles of rights possessing between people inhabiting a definite country. America does omit these principles, for sure. Otherwise, there would not be such responses of Americans to reduce somebody’s rights for voting in favor of their own dislikes. This point does not intend people to go towards positive and constructive reforms, but to give an edge to further struggle within masses.
According to the juridical base of rights equality amongst civilians of the United States the following objection can be supposed. If there something in one destination diminishes hence something in another one should be subjoined. When at a man’s disposal there is an opportunity to reduce something in exchange for obtaining some priorities as for the principles of equality, so a man without the right to vote is to be suggested to add one more right of his own.
For example, a man can suggest in return having a right for getting additional help of $50 every morning because of his indifference towards elections and unavailability to maintain such procedure. IT would be fair enough then. Due to the public opinion such manipulation are not allowed. Then comes a question: why do the local authorities tend to provide in this modern time of innovations and growth of scientific and social thoughts preferences of physiological character in order to ignore civil belonging of Americans with other than white color of skin? The controversial character of relationships between people of the US provided by the law ignores personal liberty of a man with cases of insolent, vain, and freethinking interference into one’s life rights and obligations.
Thus, ethical approaches as of rights of people to vote and others were not under strict control for all layers of the population, but had the purpose to emphasize allegedly democratic flow of further development with wonderful perspectives. It is a shame for Americans to follow the way of destruction. In fact, it will not solve the issue as it is. The main reason is concealed in the historical elaboration, namely cases of enslavement in the United States and other countries of the Commonwealth. Many years of mockeries and inhumane attitudes left an imprint on the societal relations with standpoint of shortcoming of African Americans in particular.
Besides some special approaches as of the problem the common principles of morality which society teach people to follow and at once willingly omits them. This fact is ridiculous because it does not coincide with the nature of law and Declaration of People’s Rights in its extent. Furthermore, the nation of America should represent unity and power in its strive to reach better positions in the world arena but not to measure proportion of white and black people in various states. Neither business nor politics should interfere into the social processes in order to provide their personal policies
…eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers. In fact they are—or would be if they or anyone else took them seriously— preaching pure and unadulterated socialism. Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades. (Beauchamp 51)
Sharing the moral part of every key issue within the society can promote perpetual building of pure and strong attitudes and communication amongst Americans. Complex of norms maintained for multinational societies is of crucial significance in order to prevent inner disturbances and keep on creating all moral and social conditions for gathering the potential of each American in terms of further challenges to be confronted with. Decreasing current and universal rights of civilians conducts towards less ability of the nation to survive. This can absolutely destroy institutes of social affairs as well as those of authority.
Courts are better tool to work out such problems and find the way of recent changes in the society. That is why the body of judges is better to be with different racial coloring, so that the decisions in every trial obey the objective survey on the problem. To achieve common approaches on the morality issue is a hard and thorny way which can identify every nation and its publicity whether it is strong or weak in its wholeness. The process of implementing right reforms in this sphere of American essence is the point to be, first, made out and then embodied in the structural, cultural, and ethnical peculiarities of the society.
To conclude, challenges which are too important for Americans seem to be as follows: whether American society resists or not the troubles which it actually provides for people. Voting problem as well as racial one in Michigan is one from multiple volume of disasters or their scheming in the United States of America. This question is up in the air at the moment and no one knows when it will reach its decline and stop worrying the society of American people.
Conclusion
Thus, pointing out both cases with different contextual peculiarities one cannot but realize that morality is a strong opportunity to direct humane processes in a right way for better emphasis on people’s ability to confront troubles in their lives individually and as a part of society. This extent also maintains the need to follow entire principles of relationships building within multinational countries with various levels of well-being etc. For every human being it is vital to designate a principle which stands for further improvement of an individual’s life prospects, namely: The world is your oyster, just crack it!
Works cited
Beauchamp, TL & Bowie, NE. Ethical theory and business. Edition: 8, Prentice-Hall, 2003.
‘H. B. Fuller in Honduras: Street Children and Substance Abuse’; The Purpose of the Corporation, 2004, pp.102-104.
‘How would you vote if you lived in Michigan?’; Diversity, Discrimination, and Harassment in the Work Place, 2004, pp. 264-265.