1 / 16

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SWEATSHOPS?

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SWEATSHOPS?. THREE APPROACHES FOR DEALING WITH MORAL PROBLEMS AND HOW THEY APPLY TO THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN SWEATSHOPS. WHY IS JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT SELLING HANES SWEATSHOP UNDERWEAR?. LESSON APPROACH.

indira-duncan
Download Presentation

WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SWEATSHOPS?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT SWEATSHOPS? THREE APPROACHES FOR DEALING WITH MORAL PROBLEMS AND HOW THEY APPLY TO THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN SWEATSHOPS.

  2. WHY IS JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT SELLING HANES SWEATSHOP UNDERWEAR?

  3. LESSON APPROACH • INTRODUCE THREE MAIN WAYS OF ANALYZING MORAL PROBLEMS AS THEY APPLY TO SWEATSHOPS. • WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP SWEATSHOPS? • READ AN ESSAY ON ECONOMICS AND ETHICS THAT DEFINES SWEATSHOPS AND WHY THEY EXIST. • ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF LABOR MARKETS. • CONSIDER TWO OPPOSING VIEWS ABOUT SWEATSHOPS AND DISCUSS THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR WORKERS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS AND CONSUMERS IN WEALTHY NATIONS. • DISCUSS AND EVALUATE THREE POLICY OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH SWEATSHOPS.

  4. FEATURES OF SWEATSHOPS • LOW WAGES • LONG WORKING HOURS • HEALTH AND/OR SAFETY HAZARDS • ARBITRARY DISCIPLINE • NO JOB SECURITY • PHYSICAL ABUSE, THREATS, AND INTIMIDATION • WORKERS HAVE NO VOICE • CHILD LABOR

  5. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS • DENSE POPULATIONS • LIMITED EDUCATION HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT • FEW JOB ALTERNATIVES • EXTREME POVERTY • WORKERS WITH LOW PRODUCTIVITY • NO SOCIAL SAFETY NET • CORRUPT, WEAK OR UNDEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT • SECRECY AND LACK OF WORKSPACE TRANSPARENCY, OFTEN IN PLACES WITHOUT A FREE PRESS • NO SYSTEM OF JUSTICE TO PROTECT BASIC RIGHTS • CONSUMER IGNORANCE ABOUT OR NEGLECT OF THE PLIGHT OF SWEATSHOP WORKERS

  6. CHARACTERISTICS OF LESS-COMPETITIVE LABOR MARKET • ONE BUYER OF LABOR OR COLLUSION OF SEVERAL BUYERS ACTING AS ONE • MANY SELLERS OF LABOR • ENTRY OF COMPETING FIRMS BLOCKED • HIGH COSTS FOR WORKERS TO SEARCH FOR JOBS • COERCIVE EXCHANGE BECAUSE OTHER JOB OPTIONS FOR WORKERS ARE ARTIFICIALLY BLOCKED • ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION OR BARGAINING POWER

  7. CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPETITIVE LABOR MARKET • MANY BUYERS OF LABOR • MANY SELLERS OF LABOR • FREE ENTRY OR EXIT • VOLUNTARY EXCHANGE • GOOD INFORMATION FOR BOTH BUYERS AND SELLERS

  8. CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS • WHAT IS EXPLOITATION? WHAT CHARACTERISTICS MAKE A RELATIONSHIP IN THE MARKET EXPLOITATIVE? • ARE LOW WAGES IN FACTORIES PROOF THAT FIRMS ARE EXPLOITING WORKERS? WHY? • WHAT KEY INSTITUTIONS MAY BE MISSING IN COUNTRIES WITH LESS COMPETITIVE MARKETS? • HOW DO LABOR MARKETS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE?

  9. OUTCOMES MATTER (OUTCOMES BASED ETHICS) DUTY MATTERS (DUTY BASED ETHICS) CHARACTER MATTERS (VIRTUE BASED ETHICS) EXAMINE THE OUTCOMES IN PEOPLE’S LIVES ASK WHETHER THE BASIC DIGNITY OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS IS UPHELD DECIDE WHETHER SWEATSHOPS CONTRIBUTE TO THE FORMATION OF GOOD CHARACTER AND VIRTUES FOR WORKERS, MANAGERS, AND CONSUMERS APPROACHES TO ETHICAL ISSUES

  10. Which of the following features of sweatshops is most troubling from the perspective of virtue-based ethics? Workers receive very low wages. Workers do not have leisure or freedom to develop their characters. Sweatshops exploit the desperate situation of their workers. Workers are not treated with respect.

  11. A duty based approach to ethics settles moral decisions by weighing the consequences of an act. considering the greatest net pleasure that results from a particular decision. appealing to universal rules. considering the decision maker’s character and intentions.

  12. An outcomes-based approach to ethics judges actions by weighing the consequences for society. considering what maximizes one’s own happiness. appealing to basic human rights. considering the decision maker’s character and intentions.

  13. PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO SEGMENTS AND THEN ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE THREE NORMATIVE APPROACHES SWEATSHOPS MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR WEALTHY CONSUMERS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO BUY CHEAP PRODUCTS. DOES THIS BENEFICIAL OUTCOME MAKE SWEATSHOPS MORALLY JUSTIFIABLE? WHY? INCLUDE IN YOUR ANSWER THE MORAL PERSPECTIVE FROM WHICH YOU ARE ARGUING.

  14. FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION WORKPLACE CODE OF CONDUCT • PROHIBITS FORCED, PRISON, OR CHILD LABOR • PROHIBITS ANY FORM OF HARASSMENT OR ABUSE • PROHIBITS ANY FORM OF DISCRIMINATION • PROHIBITS UNSAFE AND UNHEALTHY WORKING CONDITIONS

  15. FLA REQUIRES PARTICIPANTS TO: • RESPECT THE RIGHT TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING • PAY AT LEAST THE LEGAL MINIMUM WAGE • PROVIDE LEGALLY REQUIRED BENEFITS • MAINTAIN REASONABLE HOURS OF WORK AND TIME-OFF • PAY EMPLOYEES FOR WORKING OVERTIME

  16. SO, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? OPTION 1: INTERNATIONAL TREATY IF A TREATY SIMILAR TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION ESTABLISHED MINIMUM WORKING CONDITIONS IN LABOR MARKETS, WHAT BASIC RIGHTS SHOULD THE TREATY PROVIDE EVERY WORKER? OPTION 2: MARKETS AND MONITORING WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING THE MARKET-MONITORING APPROACH TO REFORM SWEATSHOPS? OPTION 3: TAKE NO ACTION WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES?

More Related