Introduction
In 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Swizz Conglomerate Nestle, suing them for using child labor in Ivory Cot and Ghana to source their agricultural raw materials. These litigations gave the company a bad reputation and resulted in Nestle investing billions of dollars in handling the problem and paying cocoa farmers. The problem shows the challenges and the need to understand the ethical decision-making approaches of business leaders and devise solutions for the problems.
The utilitarian approach seeks to maximize happiness, the rights approach promotes individuals’ liberty, and the justice approach seeks to promote equity and equality. Thus, the study also seeks to answer prompts related to working for long hours and whether people can be trained to become more ethical. The study concludes that the utilitarian approach is preferable to the other two decision-making approaches, that working for long hours is unethical as it impairs the well-being of the individuals, and that ethics can be trained.
Unethical Behavior by a Nestle and Its Effects
One of the trending unethical behaviors in the corporate world today is Nestle’s use of child labor. Nestle was under massive media scrutiny for relying on child labor, especially in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, to harvest, clean, and care for cocoa trees (Nestle, 2023). The event had a significant impact on the reputation and well-being of the company. The exploitation of children’s rights made the consumers outraged, and they threatened to boycott Nestle until it followed ethical and sustainable sourcing practices. The damage to the company’s image impacted the customers and other company stakeholders, including shareholders, workers, and governmental bodies. To date, the negative brand recognition Nestle has suffered continues to give it a negative reputation.
Additionally, the ethical case of using child labor has profound negative impacts on the company’s profitability. These impacts include reduced sales as the company has had to grapple with boycotts, which have resulted in the company’s revenues falling. The world’s leading food and beverage producer and distributor also has to deal with increased operational costs due to the incident.
Nestle was forced to establish the Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) to help monitor and detect the behaviors of its suppliers. The close observation of the processes used by the supply chain partners across borders made the operational cost for the company rise, therefore reducing profits. Legal fees such as fines and penalties also reduced the income the brewer made (Chambers, 2023). In the aftermath of the incident, Nestle had to deal with the issue of investors divesting their capital, further impacting the company’s processes. The incident is a good example of organizations avoiding unethical behaviors as they could significantly influence their incomes.
Ethical Decision-Making Approaches
Utilitarian Approach
The utilitarian approach is an ethical philosophy that seeks to ensure that actions are taken to maximize happiness. The approach has several strengths, including its being pragmatic and outcomes-oriented, thus resulting in improved well-being in people (Mudrack & Manson, 2019). The approach is also based on the situation, which makes it adaptable and flexible.
The utilitarian decision-making theory also balances interests, thus becoming an effective tool for solving ethical dilemmas. However, this theory and philosophical concept has several weaknesses. First, it could easily result in the interests of the minority population being ignored. Secondly, people who subscribe to this theory believe that actions can be quantified, which is impossible. It also encourages behaviors that are not acceptable within society but whose overall outlook is positive.
Rights Approach
The rights approach, also known as the deontological ethical theory, states that people have the freedom and liberty to do what they wish with their lives. This principle’s strength includes aligning with moral principles and the duties of people in society. The method also provides guidelines on how it should be practiced as the actions align with the intrinsic moral values of a person. Supporters of this theory state that it respects people’s rights by ensuring that their values and liberty are respected (Valentine et al., 2023).
Nevertheless, the method has three major weaknesses. Like the utilitarian approach, the method is often fixed and does not adjust according to the situation. The method is also limited to individuals’ autonomy and ignores considering the possible consequences. It also reveals weaknesses when dealing with disputes, as it does not show a straightforward way to find a resolution.
Justice Approach
The justice or fairness ethical approach states that people should treat others fairly except for a justifiable reason to do otherwise. The method has the strength of focusing on equity, equality, and need, which are essential societal principles. The system is the best suited when dealing with systematic injustices in society (Gaus, 2021).
The fairness approach can also balance the rights of individuals in society and the community’s being. This approach, however, has the weakness of being complex and challenging to apply. Additionally, community members may disagree about what is fair and ethical. Unlike the utilitarian approach, the method does not maximize utility, and society may not like its outcomes.
Preferred Ethical Decision-Making Approach
While most decision-making approaches have merit in their application, I find the utilitarian approach more appealing than the other two. This view is shaped by the fact that when actions seek to maximize utility for the most significant number of people, the decision-maker could quickly address the ethical dilemma. However, I must admit that the three decision-making approaches must be used simultaneously for optimal outcomes.
Working for Long Hours Is Unethical
Although the nature of the number of hours worked in an organization is based on several factors, such as the contract, I believe that working for long hours and on weekends is an unethical practice. First, employers need to understand the importance of work-life balance. When people commit excessive hours professionally, they may hurt their personal lives, affecting their physical and mental well-being. Working long hours in the organization may result in stress burnout, thus influencing the health of the workforce, which is unethical (Patel et al., 2019).
The need to have employees work for long hours may result in forfeiture of a critical aspect of living, which is finding time to spend with loved ones. Research reveals that lack of this connection may result in distress and thus not ethical (Lampley, 2023). The employees’ commitment to long hours and working during the weekends may also not be voluntary but is caused by the coercion of the company’s managers. Therefore, not setting a flexible working routine can be linked with unethical business practices. This behavior is also associated with potential exploitations without fair compensation for the extra hours worked.
People Can Be Trained to Be More Ethical
I believe that people can be trained to become more ethical, but the training should be tailored in a particular manner to be effective. First, individuals should be presented with ethical case studies to make them aware of the consequences of being unethical. This would make them open up to behavioral change, reducing their chances of wrong actions. Training can teach people the guidelines to follow when presented with an ethical dilemma and, thus, the best way to act. The training also promotes self-reflection and critical thinking abilities, which could result in positive decision-making outcomes.
If ethics and decision-making training is done appropriately and includes case studies, role plays, and deep group discussions, it may result in positive outcomes in decision-making. Firms that have invested in the skill development of their workforce and instilled a positive organizational culture prove this assertion. These companies usually make more ethically aligned decisions than those that do not invest in creating a positive corporate belief. Moreover, the training could help reinforce an individual’s already established moral values, thus making them more ethical.
Conclusion
This study has analyzed four different prompts related to ethical challenges faced in leadership. First, the study has analyzed the ethical behaviors of Nestle in using child labor and how it resulted in the company gaining a bad reputation and reduced profitability. The ethical decision approaches of the utilitarian and rights justice approach have been analyzed, with utilitarianism being recommended as the more appropriate approach. The issue of working long hours has also been discussed, along with why excessive work is bad for employees. Finally, the issue of whether people can be trained to be more ethical has been analyzed, with the results revealing that employees could indeed be trained.
References
Chambers, R. (2023). Litigating corporate human rights information. American Business Law Journal, 60(1), 111-174. Web.
Gaus, G. (2021). Is mutual advantage a general theory of justice? More domain worries. Philosophical Studies, 178, 1731-1739. Web.
Lampley, R. (2023). A haven for traffickers: How the United States provides a legal safe-haven for businesses that rely on forced labor or slave labor in the supply chain. Pepperdine Law Review (Forthcoming). Web.
Mudrack, P. E., & Mason, E. S. (2019). Utilitarian traits and the Janus-Headed model: Origins, meaning, and interpretation. Journal of Business Ethics, 156, 227-240. Web.
Patel, R. S., Sekhri, S., Bhimanadham, N. N., Imran, S., & Hossain, S. (2019). A review on strategies to manage physician burnout. Cureus, 11(6), 1-7. Web.
Valentine, L., D’Alfonso, S., & Lederman, R. (2023). Recommender systems for mental health apps: Advantages and ethical challenges. AI & society, 38(4), 1627-1638. Web.