The Green Move Company - Essay Example

The Green Move Company: Legal and Ethical Issues A1. The new product being produced at Green Move is a hazard to theusers of the product (Sheerow 15). The Zero Pedal accelerates dangerously once exposed to high temperatures for four consecutive hours. The fact that the person you are replacing was fired after he told his bosses about the defect shows that your revealing this defect could cost me my job. On the other hand however, exposing my customers to such a risk is illegal because if one of them dies during cycling, then they shall sue the company. This is not to mention the fact that human life is more precious than the zero pedals. The board has proved to be rather rigid when dealing with this matter. Whichever way I look at this issue, I seem to hit a wall. At this point, it is important to look at possible solutions. The best solution would be to inform the board and then inform the police. Ethically, this would be the best solution (Sheerow 37). This way I will save both my dignity and integrity and the users of the Zero pedal. However, this may not solve much of the problem since the former employee had tried that to no avail. If anything, this had cost him his job. Additionally, nothing had been done about it. The second thing to do would be to resign and save face. This is to my advantage because once a scandal blows up, which is bound to happen. However, this will not save all the lives of the customers who use the bike. Thirdly, I could advise the management to put a disclaimer that should come with the Zero pedal. This disclaimer should go be written in the user’s manual. The possible retailers of the product should also be educated about this product. Advertisements should also be put up educating people about the product as well as any problems that may arise from use of the pedal. This is just to clear up the current stock. However, Doug and the engineering department should start working on a solution as soon as possible in order to correct the defect. Although the cost per bike to fix the defect is high, it remains the management’s responsibility to produce only quality products for its customers. I will propose this solution to the management. If they refuse, I shall resign from my job and report the matter to the relevant authorities and I will inform them as such. I will also team up with my predecessor and take the issue public letting everyone know about the defect. After a lot of thinking, I choose the last alternative and am currently gathering courage to face the board. This model is known as Hurson’s Productive Thinking Model (ASQ). It involves using both critical and creative thinking skills at all the steps of the process. This therefore means that I have taken a well rounded look into the problem and come up with the best solution yet. A2. What the sort of money the goods stores are asking for is a shelf fee (Zimmerman 104). Ethically, this is not allowed. Ethically, this fee should not be there since they are not even sure that the product will sell. Additionally, it puts a squeeze on the small company’s finances. However, this fee is acceptable legally. It is known as the shelf fee. Most companies ask for this before putting up any products on their shelves. It is estimated that in the US, manufacturers pay up to $9 billion every year as shelf fees. This according to experts represents up to half of supermarket’s total gains. It is obvious that I need them to put up my products on the shelves if Green Move is to make any sales. However, instead of paying $5,000 before even making any profit (Cavallaro 98). I will negotiate to pay a certain amount of money for every good sold. This means that for every Zero Pedal sold, the retailing shop should expect at least 5% of the money received. This will ensure that the retailer himself does some work in trying to market the good since he too is making a kill out of it. Paying him the shelf fee may make the products lie on their shelves without any use. An additional strategy I am considering is increasing the advertising for the product. This will make the product fairly popular among the public. Therefore, cyclers will come to the shop expecting to find the product and once they do not they will be disappointed. Eventually, the shop will have to stock my goods in order to please the consumers. A3. This case falls under product liability. This is the area of law that deals with how the distributors, manufactures, retailers and suppliers of a product are ultimately responsible for all the injuries the product may have due to its production. The foal here is to protect the consumers of the product from its dangers. It applies to cases whereby the manufacturers and suppliers know about the defect beforehand and still went ahead and sold them to the consumers. Essentially the Zero Pedal suffers from a design defect. A design effect is a liability that arises from a mistake when designing the product which has made it dangerous for the purpose it was intended, in this case cycling. Once sued, the plaintiff could argue negligence. The plaintiff will argue that Green Move had a responsibility to make any good put out there for the public’s commercial use fit for the use of consumers. They will then argue that the product’s design and inspection failed to meet their obligations. Therefore, the plaintiff suffered the injury resulting from the defect of the product while engaging in the use that the bike was intended for. Another argument that could arise here falls under strict liability. Under strict liability, if the plaintiff ascertains that the product is defective, then that fact alone is enough. This is regardless of the amount of care put into manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sale of the product. In essence, the risks involved far outweigh the possible profits to be made. B1. Outsourcing labor is not uncommon in the United States of America (Ching 2). Big companies in the United Sates such as apple have been known to outsource labor from China. As a matter of fact, this practice has become fairly common in the US. Therefore, terminating the contract is not an option (16). Mitigating the effects of these companies is the only other good measure. Companies outsource labor because it is cheaper to get from outside the country than from within the company. In the case that the blogger releases the story to the public then Zero Pedal will most likely get negative publicity. Most people are of the strong opinion that outsourcing jobs in America because there are many Americans without jobs and a source of livelihood. However, it is important to note that the US is a dynamic economy and outsourcing is good because it leads to a lower cost of production which in turn leads to goods and services cost much less than they would have had they been produced in the States. Additionally, there are advantages of trade between countries not to mention specialization. In essence, outsourcing is good for the company since if they decide to make all their goods within the US the cost of production will be too high and thus no one will be able to afford the good. B2. There are no legal considerations here. It is important to understand that the practice being common in the United States is also legal. Green Move and Solar Group are two different companies and none controls the other. Nonetheless, these two companies are based in different companies with different laws. It is up to the Bangladesh legal system to identify faults in it make up and thus stop treating employees in the country as unfairly as they do. In fact, it is encouraged so that the trade of both countries is sufficiently boosted. Morally and ethically, this is a different issue. Outsourcing labor hurts Americans in the sense that these are potential employees who have been robbed of potential jobs in the process. However, it is important to note the word ‘potential’. No one’s actual job is being taken way. Indeed, outsourcing was a much bigger deal a couple of years ago. W since it has become the norm, more people are accepting of it. This is especially due to the internet and the fact that the world is fast becoming a global village. That aside, the measures suggested here are to insulate the young company from any negative publicity since it is too young to deal with any such publicity. B3. Robert cannot stop the blogger from going public. The blogger will go public and thus hurt the reputation of the company. However, it is important for Robert to so some underground research on the blogger and find out just how many people read his blog. Depending on this number therefore, the company can decide just how much damage they need to mitigate. Essentially, the blogger may not even have the actual video and he may just be bluffing. Therefore, Robert needs to call back the blogger and find out just how much he knows. He needs to behave as if he wants to pay the blogger not to run the footage online. In the event that the blogger accepts the money and accepts the blog, Robert can safely conclude that the blogger does not have any actual video and this he will call his bluff. However, the downside to all this is that indeed, the blogger may actually have the footage and may be interested in the labor laws of America. Thus the company needs to act first before the blogger acts. This is so that the blogger looks like he is lying. They should hold a video call with Akash. Akash is a typical worker at the company. He understands the plight of the workers in Bangladesh. Additionally, he understands how poor the people in the country are. Akash should explain that the company is actually helping the people of Bangladesh through creation of job opportunities. He should also explain that the labor laws used in Bangladesh are different from those used in United States of America. He should further emphasize on the fact that although Green Move outsources labor, Solar Group is an entirely different company with different company policies (Sperling 67). Therefore, Green Move cannot control another company’s policies. This video call should also highlight the fact that he is waiting to be a supervisor so that he increases his pay. The video call should be made public. Green Move should then offer the young man a position at their new office in Boston since already he understands the functioning of the Zero Pedal. This way he can move to the United Sates and start a new life with better wages. This kind of policy should continue every year for every employee who is named the best. Thus, the employees at Solar Group should continue working but have a chance of being relocated to the United States for a better pay. This way by the time the blogger releases his video link, the hearts of Americans will be convinced otherwise. C1. Viktor should not provide a bid on the property. Essentially, he is being asked for a bribe. Clearly this is not security deposit (Waring 57). The second envelope is supposed to include money to ‘convince’ the landlord to lease him the property. However, this is not how things should be. The landlord should give an offer and Viktor is in a position to accept it or refuse it without denying. This amounts to corruption and it is both legally and ethically wrong (Portman 38). He should just give one envelope and leave out the other one. The landlord should not use money as an incentive. C2. Green Move should abstain from expanding its operations. It already has enough problems to deal with. Additionally, it has not even conquered the United States’ market before thinking of expanding to the outside the country. The company has not grown enough for it to open new offices abroad. The cost of opening a new company is too big not to mention that they do not have the infrastructure in place for possible salaries. Victor needs to put his personal issues and release that in business one cannot mix pleasure with business. He should concentrate on the brand as it is in the US before thinking of expanding it to other countries. D1. It is clear that the organization is too profit based. It is willing to do anything in order to get its product onto the market. Payment of the shelf fee will facilitate the company’s products being sold everywhere. This is not illegal but it is unethical. It will also hurt the business of the company. D2. Strict liability, as already explained focuses on the product itself (Larson 45). Under this liability, the manufacturer is liable for the fault of the product. This is regardless of the fact that the manufacturer was not negligent when making the product. If it is proven that the conduct of the defendant was below the necessary standard of care. This is however a bit hard because the Zero Pedal does not fall under any regulation and thus is highly unregulated. The MacPherson Standard is applicable here although many American courts no longer use it. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is usually stressed so as to reduce the burden of proof of the plaintiff. The Greenman case set precedent for such cases. It imposed strict liability on the entire chain starting from the manufacturer to the retailer for productive that is defective. The US Supreme Court has accepted the strict liability for defective products and even adopted it as part of its federal admiralty law. D3. Green Move needs to act fast in order to ensure they do not put their reputation at jeopardy. The company needs to mitigate the hold the video call that has been discussed at length in C2. This way the effects of the blogger’s video link though may affect sales to a very small percentage. In the long term, they can terminate the contract with the Solar Group and ensure they buy their goods from another company that is more labor friendly. Additionally, the company can insist that Solar Group changes its policies in order to match those of the United States. The last resort would be to move production back into the United States. Ultimately, this is the most expensive option but it is also the most ethical. This way the company will create jobs for the unemployed people in the US. The good will however lose it competitive edge because its prices will escalate. With the correct marketing however, the loss of customers can be mitigated. D4. The government should make it harder for the companies to employ outside labor. Alternatively, it should ensure that all the countries come together to form joint a unitary economic policy in order to facilitate the exchange of labor without breeching any laws. It has been noted that the countries that outsource the labor are from Asia particularly China. In a strange twist, India is now trying to outsource labor from the United States (Ching 115). What this therefore means is that this is here to stay. The government, instead of banning it, should put up policies that ensure that the employer and employee both benefit regardless of the fact that they are in different countries. With an international policy in place then both countries can work under it to ensure that each of the people benefit. Works Cited ASQ. Problem Solving Steps and Process. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.http://asq.org/learn-about- quality/problem-solving/overview/ Cavallaro, Michael. How to Get Your Amazing Invention on Store Shelves: An A-Z Guidebook for the Undiscovered Inventor. Atlanta: Atlantic Publishing Company. 2010. Print Ching, Jacqueline. Outsourcing US Jobs. The Rosen Publishing Group. 2009. Print Larson, Aaron. Product Liability-Protecting Consumers from Defective Products. 2003. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.http://www.expertlaw.com/library/product_liability/product_liability.html Portman, Janet. Negotiate the Best Lease for your Business. NY: Nolo. 2005. Print. Sperling, Ed. It’s Not Just About Cheap Labor. Forbes. 2008. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/12/cio-outsourcing-weinberg-tech-cio- cx_es_0915cioqa.html Sheerow, Victoria. Product Liability. NY: Infobase Publishing. 2010. Print. Waring, David. Commercial Real Estate: What You Need to Know Before Leasing. . 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://fitsmallbusiness.com/commercial-real-estate/ Zimmerman, Eilene. Getting your Product onto Retail Shelves. NYTimes. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/business/smallbusiness/21sbiz.html?_r=0 Read More