Nikes Dispute with the University of Oregon - Essay Example

The paper "Nike’s Dispute with the University of Oregon" is an excellent example of an essay on business. At the center of Nike’s dispute with the University of Oregon were ethical business practices with an emphasis on organizational accountability on wage rates, working environment, and social corporate responsibility. Nike had support for the Fair Labor Association (FLA) which had legal and ethical loopholes that could still help multinationals gain through exploitative labor conditions and wage rates outside the United States. On the other hand, the University of Oregon joined in the spirit of solidarity with other universities to champion for Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) which fought to ensure strict adherence to human work conditions for all the multinationals that sought their market in Apparel and sports kit. It is evident that WRC sought to eliminate the stakeholders’ interest among firms in the Apparel industry and this was seen by Nike as a betrayal by its perennial benefactor in philanthropic financial donations.

According to Friedman’s and Freeman’s theories, shareholder wealth maximization is the primary goal of a firm. In this regard, managers ensure that firms operate under the protection of limited liability. The essence, in this case, is seen in how such a goal allows companies to privatize their gains while externalizing losses. Some of the tactics used by the company to achieve the goal include limited expenditure on the safety workplace environment and low wages which sums up to be the bone of contention between Nike and the University of Oregon. Nike, therefore, withdrew its support to the University of Oregon as it saw the opportunity of manipulating minimum wage and other local, international and industrial labor laws was not achievable in the presence of the Worker Rights Consortium. Read More