The Modern World of Business - Essay Example

PharmaCARE Introduction If one takes a look at the modern world of business, one can not help noticing that it is extremely different from the one which existed in the previous centuries. One of the most dramatic differences is the increased role of Ethics and the way it influences day to day operations. Indeed, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the contemporary society pays more attention to ethical practices and urges companies to comply with them. This paper will analyze the case study, apply several ethical theories and compare to a real world company. Stakeholders It would be advantageous to start the analysis of the case with determining the stakeholders in the given scenario. However, prior to that, one should dwell and the key characteristics of a stakeholder in general. To begin with, one might suggest that a stakeholder is a party that is involved in the situation for whom the outcome makes a big difference. Indeed, to a certain extent the entire world is often affected by the decisions that are made by the companies, especially when they deal with the environment. However, it is particularly important to narrow down the analysis to the primary stakeholders that can be easily identified. Keeping all this in mind, one might suggest that the given scenario features the following stakeholders. First of all, it is PharmaCAREs executives who live in wonderful condition. Secondly, it is the local people in the African state who appear to be living in much worse conditions, but willingly work to earn some money. Finally, it is the company in general since the outcome of the situation in Africa is able to have whether a devastating or quite positive effect on its performance. Human rights issues It is rather obvious that the essence of the problem that is articulated in the case study is the inequality between the Colberians as well as executives. Thus, one of the key human rights issues that might be raised with regard to it is access to a proper living standard. It is said that the Colberians live in primitive hats that do not have running water or electivity. This is dramatically contrasted by the place where the executives live. In other words, the Colberians are entitled to satisfaction of their basic needs as much as the executives; but the former are not able to do so while the latter have the necessary resource in excess and might share. All this leads to introducing several changes that PharmaCARE might be willing to implement. To begin with, it is quite understandable that the place where the executive live should share the resources, water in particular. In other words, it is extremely unethical for these employees to swim when the people around them are not able to take a proper bath. Secondly, PharmaCARE should also eliminate tennis or golf courses. There is no doubt that the life of the local people resembles survival, rather than actual living. This means that they probably do not have enough time for recreation. As a result, the fact that the executives are able to enjoy such activities as tennis or golf while other people are simply trying to make a living is extremely unethical. It does not mean the high rank employees of PharmaCARE should be deprived of entertainment as well. However, it does not that sharing entertainment or organizing some community events might be a suitable idea. Finally, if one takes a look at the amount of money that the people earn in a day, one will be able to see that it is absolutely unacceptable. In spite of the fact that one dollar may worth a lot with regard to the local prices and practices, it is unethical to pay that little to the people, especially when other who perform the same job over the ocean are able to receive several times more. Inconsistency of actions If one carefully analyzes the some of the actions which were taken by the company in question, one will be able to see that some of them contradict with each other. For example, PharmaCARE decided to launch a new environmental initiative. There is no doubt that it will be advertised and the public will sure approach this move. Nevertheless, the public will never know that the same company has contributed to lobbying anti-environmental projects. In other words, the above mentioned initiative will not bring any positive outcome, but will merely enhance the positive image. As for the activities which happen in Colberia, one may also point out that the company in question shows a lack of integrity. Indeed, the public thinks that PharmaCARE is a truly ethical company; however it does not know about real instances of unethical practices. In other words, PharmaCARE is lying to improve its reputation and tries to maintain it only with the help of words and not its actions. One can hardly agree that the board of directions should be willing to apply Ethics to real business actions, not only as a marketing tool. Application of ethical theories Now, it may be particularly advantageous to apply some of the ethical theories in order to analyze the way the company in question treats the indigenous people in the African state. Thus, the approach, namely Utilitarianism heavily relies on the principle of greatest happiness and would argue that the activities which are performed in Africa are ethical (Graham, 2004, 145). From this point of view, the company is happy since it is able to virtually minimize the expenditures on the labor force and get a hold of a new medicine that it will use as a competitive advantage. On the other hand, the local people are happy to work and receive money for their work so that they will be able to support their families. Contrary to that Deontology would engage the concept of categorical imperative and argue that PharmaCARE should always treat all its employees equally (Mizzoni, 2010, 117). This means that the way the practices are organized in Africa should be changed. On the one hand, the local employees must be paid as much as their American counterparts. On the other hand, the executive should not live in such luxurious conditions as they would not enjoy similar conditions back in the United States. The next ethical approach that will be utilized is called Virtue ethics. In its analysis, the above mentioned approach engaged the concepts of vice and virtue, suggesting that people should find the golden mean between the two extremes (Hurka, 2001, 3). As one can see on the example of the case of PharmaCARE, there are surely extremes in spending: the ordinary employees have to survive in horrible conditions while the executives are able to enjoy the resources in excess. It is quite obvious that the best solution is to equally distribute wealth, water and other resources in order to exercise virtue. If one takes a look at the situation from the point of view of Ethics of care, one will be able to see that the activities which are organized by PharmaCARE are unethical. Indeed, on the one hand, the amount of money that the company in question pays its employees is moderate under the local conditions; however, this amount is suitable to keep them alive and can hardly be utilized for their future personal or professional growth. On the other hand, the fact that the executives have water or entertainment in abundance shows that the company does not care about its ordinary employees. Speaking of my own ethical compass, I believe that PharamaCARE should introduce changes in the way it treat the local people. I do acknowledge the fact that the production was organized in an African state to minimize the costs; however, it is not suitable to treat people as cheap labor force only. In addition to that, there is a considerable amount of humiliation in the fact that the executive are living almost in paradise, while the ordinary workers should survive in practically hell. Comparison with a real world company Today, in the age of globalization, many companies all over the world have moved their production oversees. That is why the kind of treatment that is seen in the case of PharmaCARE is shown by the real world companies as well. Thus, GAP Inc. which as a famous apparel company was under heavy criticism of the way it organized the production of its products on the island of Saipan. So, the similarity between PharmaCARE and GAP Inc. lies in the fact that they provided the local workers with conditions that are ignorantly worse than the other employees who live in a more developed parts of the world would receive. However, the major difference lies in the fact PharmaCARE also had executives who enjoyed their lives while the locals struggled and in case of GAP Inc. there were no such instances. This shows that in reality companies that might utilize some unethical practices are not necessarily so brutal to the local employees; however, this still can’t be seen as an excuse. References Graham, G. (2004). Eight theories of ethics. London: Routledge. Hurka, T. (2001). Virtue, vice, and value. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Mizzoni, J. (2010). Ethics: The basics. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More