Business Ethics
With the rise of supply chains replacing traditional methods of doing business primarily due to the increase of globalization and its consequences such as bilateral trade agreement, free trade zones, and new markets, one particular area that raises ethical concerns is in the supply chain management. However, multinational corporations have always raised controversy due to leniency in the stemming of segments of their supply chains that thrive in the violation of human rights. The large chocolate producer Nestlé has faced legal action in the recent past due to its continual sourcing of cocoa from West Africa, specifically Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa that the company acknowledges is produced in part from forced child labor. This paper reviews the ethical scenario and argues that thought the company’s action may not find a solid legal footing as implicitly affirmed by the dismissal of the case by a Californian Federal Judge, the actions of the company remain mostly unethical.
At the forefront of ethical concerns tagged on Nestlé is the possible hypothesis that the question of ethics perpetually wrestles with the “science of business.” While the economist opts for a profitable Nestlé business under the standard tripartite business theory (Svara, 2014: 12; Zelizeer, 2007: 10; Tilley, 2005: 305), the ethicist who strives to see that Nestlé operates within the confines of ethical reasoning (Paul & Elder 2006: 48). Ethics is relatively new in the business sphere (Yahya et al. 2014: 477). Akin to other typical multinational corporations following raw materials while maneuvering taxes and seeking cheap labor, Nestlé faces the contradiction of adhering to the science of business while simultaneously observing ethical principles (Collste, 2012: 18). The question remains, to what extent does the company balance the necessity to serve its customer base and generate profit for its stakeholders and still conduct its business in an ethical manner?
Nestlé is still failing to address the issue of child labor in Côte d’Ivoire. About 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, especially Côte d’Ivoire and with it, the consequence of rife child labor (O’Keefe, 2016; Clarke, 2015). Some of the most compelling statistics come from a Payson Center for International Development 2009 study that reported 1.75 million children working on Ivorian cocoa farms, doing menial jobs such as lifting heaving sacks and breaking cocoa pods of which 96% of the children work in hazardous conditions. By the 2013-2014 growing season, the number had augmented by 21% to 2.1 million with the conditions getting worse such as reports of torture and child trafficking from neighboring countries. On the other hand, the cocoa producing families and communities remain some of the poorest in Côte d’Ivoire even though chocolates and hot cocoa prices grew by 13% in the last two years.
The ethical perspective of justice argues that the fairness is the doorway to ethical actions, choices, and decisions (Baugher & Weisbord, 2009: 1; Follesdal, 2014: 312). That is to say, to the extent that a decision taken registers as fair, which could be that it is impartial and considers virtually all people and their circumstances, then it is just and consequently ethical. There is the importance of a society organized around laws and institutions that not only dispense governance but also embody the framework of achieving justice and fairness (Surovtsev & Syrov, 2015: 176. However, the weakness found in the justice theory is that whatever may be fair one may not be fair to another, while what may seem fair today may seem unfair as the society evolves (Baugher & Weisbord, 2009: 3).
Case Study: Nestlé in Côte d’Ivoire
In the case of Nestlé’s presence in Côte d’Ivoire, it is of paramount concern that the company stands for justice yet still sources cocoa from children-enslaving producers. Despite ascending to the Harkin-Engel Protocol that pledged to end the exploitation of child labor in Côte d’Ivoire as well as the company’s commission of the Fair Labor Association, it remains a principle of fundamental justice that children ought not to be robbed of their development, unethically exploited or mistreated (Clarke 2015; O’Keefe 2016). The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, agrees that it is unjust to subject any persons to forced labor, let alone children. Nestlé is apparently on the wrong side of ethics and thus deserves the blame pointed at the company and the lawsuits brought against it.
The utilitarian theory supposes that a deed is ethical if it results in the greatest possible benefit to the most number of people for whom it is meant. That is to say, any action fulfills the quality of being ethical, that is transcending sociocultural, religious, and political boundaries if at all a greater share of those to whom it was meant approve of its benefits and effects on them (Napal, 2005: 29; Marques, 2015: 6; Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008: 758). However, the utilitarian perspective fails on matters of accuracy of the deed in case it is misaligned with a segment of the population, which will most likely be the case. It is close to impossible to take actions approved by all people and therefore the ethical deed may soon appear unethical.
The actions of Nestlé apparently put in doubt the intention of the company and whether it would be willing to implement radical changes to alleviate the child labor issue. Nonetheless, the mere fact that the continues to obtain Ivorian cocoa that research groups such as the Payson Center for International Development agree comes from the blood, sweat, tears, and cries of African children forced to labor in farms with dangerous machetes in hand, raises serious ethical concerns. Even though it may seem unlikely, the laboring children inadvertently form part of Nestlé’s business enterprise, and the company has not worked towards the benefit of their wellbeing as it strives to impress its stakeholders and customers.
According to Blum (2007: 2005), virtue as a theory proposing ethics through character rather than actions is albeit a complex one even though crucial even today, and would mostly paint a more subtle picture of Nestlé. According to the argument, people’s characters are the source of or the violation of morals (Trianosky, 1990: 335). Or rather, a deed does not attract an ethical weight in itself but rather manifest forth the ethical disposition of the doer. Therefore it is also valid to presume that virtue, which is the quality of being acceptable, tolerable, or praiseworthy, results in ethically approvable decisions and actions. However, the weakness of the theory is that the validity of the domains of virtue vary considerably from person to another and from society to another.
Ethical Perspectives
Nestlé has the obligation of running its supply chain from a virtuous and therefore moral standpoint to contribute towards human development, society, and its stakeholders. However, the harm done to children does not indicate any intention to meet such ends but rather reflects trading children’s lives for revenue. The balance is antagonistic to virtue ethics since the intention of Nestlé remains steadfast on its profit margins rather than people. The company fails to make an actionable conclusion as to what steps to be taken to stop the exploitation even though it boasts of an action plan that has not been effective. Therefore the fact that Nestlé continues to run its cocoa supply chain that begins from Côte d’Ivoire and end in the western world is a gross disregard for virtuous actions as more children fall to enslaving conditions. The company shows little remorse for its actions by defending them in a court of law rather than admitting and remediating its guilt which not only disregards the prescriptions of virtuous ethics, but also poses a significant barrier to revising its business profile.
The magnificence or nobility of the ethical theories mentioned against Nestlé fall short of expectations and may be said to be the subject of a one-sided argument. The Justice Ethical Theory is perhaps the most favorite of the theories since it choruses the need to take up a course to free the enslaved Ivoirian children laboring in cocoa farms servicing the demand from Nestlé. However, the theory freezes at the inquiry of what is universal justice or rather how do rights and liberties content with justice? Does not Nestlé as an independent entity have the right to source cocoa without entangling itself in trying to clean its supply chain? Should not the blame be laid on business at the lower end of the supply chain such as Cargill rather than Nestlé? A possible explanation to Nestlé’s unethical practices is profiteering. Zelizer (2007: 9), Zuffo (2011: 26), and Collste (2012: 18)
Nestlé is more or less the company on the frontline rather than the one sourcing the coffee from farmers. In that case, even though the company would be willing to alleviate the child labor problem, it likely would not. Or rather, the culture perspective comes into play in the sense that even though Nestlé has reiterated that it does not tolerate child labor in its supply chain, it has little control over what Ivoirians view to be enslavement. It could as well be children working alongside their parents in the generation of income that would benefit them all (Napal, 2005: 29). In such a case, Nestlé would appear to be for ethics even though its reach remains limited regarding how much if can influence others along its supply chain to subscribe to its ethical principles.
Conclusion
The Nestlé cocoa supply chain that originates in Côte d’Ivoire faces critical ethical issues. Even though the ethical theories may further throw a blaming weight at the company, which is in fact more necessary than would be left for judicial processes, they come short of reviving the much needed mass antagonism against the company and its business practices. Their inherent weaknesses place them at a more questionable position than is necessary to effectively gang up against Nestlé. If we are to pick a theory of choice, that with the least loopholes in this context, or that which would effectively pitch profit against morals, then it would be virtue ethics. To understand the reason(s) why Nestlé fails to alleviate the child labor in in Côte d’Ivoire even though it could do so in a day would be crucial in uncovering why the company’s action plan is still ineffective.
Justice
The more obvious reason would be profiteering if not protecting the interests of investors, or even keeping competitors at bay. However my concern remain, how well can the future be preserved, more so in the case with exploited Ivoirian children? It would require an internal change, a change in the “personality” of the company rather than the mere mention of utilitarianism or even justice. Confronting virtue would be challenging the building blocks of Nestlé more than utilitarianism or even justice could achieve and therefore it is in that regard that I settle on virtue ethics. Nonetheless, without absolving Nestlé, the company seems to be ignoring or giving little attention to the plight of forced Ivoirian children working in farms producing the precious cocoa and therefore operates in unethical grounds.
References
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