Professor Persily Lamel
Section 001
7 October 2012
Ethics is a system of moral principles that an individual or a group
decides to conduct themselves by. Many grocery retailers are being confronted
with the task of meeting the consumer demand of more ethical and socially
responsible organic foods and drinks that are sold in their stores. Throughout
the United States and Europe, more organic foods within supermarkets are
becoming highly desired. Also, CSR groups are cracking down on grocery
retailers like Wal-Mart to start convincing their suppliers to use less
packaging in order to reduce packaging waste. Not only do grocery store have
challenges with environmental ethics, but they are also faced with the decision
of how to treat their workers.
Grocery retailers like Wal-Mart are
notoriously known for being one of the biggest corporate villains in the United
States and around the world. Wal-Mart has three basic ethical principles:
respect for the individual, service to the customer and striving for
excellence. Wal-Mart aims to provide their consumers with the lowest possible
prices for their products, however this comes at the cost of their works and
their wages. Wal-Mart had been fined by the labor department for attempting to
deny their workers overtime and are known for not paying “livable wages.” Because
of this, many people try to avoid shopping from Wal-Mart because of how poorly
their treat their workers and hope by doing this, the store will feel forced to
improve their employee working conditions.
The grocery store industry is required
to meet consumer demands if they want to compete with other stores. They have
to abide by the boundaries of ethically and socially responsible business practices.
This includes being environmentally friendly and also treating their employees with
respect while trying to bring the best service at the lowest price possible.
http://360.datamonitor.com/Product?pid=BI00014-005&view=d0e30
http://www.globalexchange.org/sweatfree/walmart/racetobottom
That is an interesting article. Why do workers still work for companies even though their wages are low?
ReplyDeleteI think that the answer to your question can be found in the supply and demand for labor markets. The unemployment rate is high and there is a surplus of labor. This means that companies aren't hiring enough as to meet the demand for jobs. The job opportunity landscape might discourage low wages workers to change jobs.
ReplyDeleteWhen going into these business ventures you have to make sure you do your reserch.
ReplyDelete