Ethics & Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics & Business - Essay Example In Mexico, it has been reported that workers are offered very little wages to an extent that they are forced to send their kids to offer labor in garment factories instead of going to school (Esbenshade, 2004, pp.4). This denies the young children from achieving their rights to education and forces them into the same torturing manual professions like their parents. The word â€Å"sweatshop† was first coined in the early 1900s i.e. during the industrial revolution. It was a term used to express the kind of abusive working situation several workers in Latin America used to and are still put to go through by middlemen who make an income off their sweat. For every pay a worker receives, there is a percentage that is taken by the middlemen. This percentage is what is said to be sweated from the laborer despite the fact that, they received minimal wages for disproportionate work, under unhygienic conditions. Basically, the greatest victim of sweatshops is often women. Under these wo rking conditions, these women’s right to wages that meet basic costs of living is violated; they live and work under substandard and hazardous working condition; they receive no compensation for overtime work; and also endure sexual harassment. In many instances, the women fall victim to this inhuman habit as they are lured by recruiters who promise heaven but only offer hell. Worse still, is the fact that in most instances, they pay lots of cash in recruitment and contractual fees that tie them up to commitments that would probably last for endless years. Some even go for several years without receiving even a single penny as they try to pay off their debts. Those who attempt to escape back home without meeting their contractual commitments are in most cases blacklisted or jailed. The laborers, who often are not quite familiar with their labor rights frequently, carry on with work even when their wages delayed for weeks. Some employers even lure the women into offering them sexual favor for better opportunities and wages, something that never comes to bare fruits (Hapke, 2004, pp.3). Global Corporations’ Perspective and Ethics Ethics among global corporations is a widespread issue that impacts not only in the economies of Latin America, but also the economies of other nations as well. In a time when technology has enhanced accessibility all across the world, the global economy is continually becoming more and more vital. Labor standards of the firms targeting foreign workers must aptly take into consideration the principal form of human rights, and the persona of both the individuals targeted as well as that of the company. When discussing ethics among global corporations, some of the key areas of debate include â€Å"extortion, moral norms and human rights† (Hapke, 2004, pp.3). The behavioral traits exhibited by firms in the hosting nations normally impact negatively on the economies and persons of both the targeted nation as well as the host firms doing business. Due to this, the ethical standards under which a company ought to operate under has been a source of extensive debate for a very long time. There are two fundamental ethical issues in human rights that need to be largely taken into consideration by global business players. First and foremost, is the question of whether global business players should carry out business in nations which consistently