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100 second reflection for week 13
Think for 100 seconds, and summarize the key things that you learned in the class in week 13 (Ethics and Environment in Supply Chains and Foxconn case)
Ethics in business and more specifically in supply chains will always be a gray area. There will always be the consumer who wants better treatment of outsourced production workers while also demanding prices to remain the same. There seems to be a constant game of back and forth with regard to how situations related to PR management should be handled. Companies with supply chains that operate on a global scale and have operations or productions in areas and situations where the standard of living is low should take greater care at monitoring the treatment of workers through better guidelines with outsourced vendors and government officials. Of course not all violations or PR upsets can be handle in a way that doesnt expose every involved party, so there has to be a common ground whereby the company feels it is doing the best that it can without damaging the lives the workers and causing negative PR with the consumer.
The major thing that I realized during this weeks teachings, that in business it doesn’t pay to be ethical. We see a lot of major companies such as Apple and Nike create their products in unethical ways through having their employees in the supply chain work in unfavorable conditions. This shows that the biggest competitors in these two markets have a competitive advantage by doing this, so other companies must also take part in these practices to combat this advantage, leaving to more and more companies participating in unethical business practices. Unfortunately it does not look like this will change until a system is put into place to promote ethical behavior by businesses and as of now, that does not look like it will happen anytime soon.
The major takeaway from this week revolved around EMS companies. EMS companies are characterized by their low profit margins and low bargaining power. That is, EMS firms have low bargaining power with respect to their customers because they have to follow the design issued by the company requesting the EMS’s services. Additionally, EMS have low bargaining power with respect to their suppliers as the company requesting the EMS’s services may dictate who the suppliers must be. Lastly, EMS’s have low profit margins which leads to them trying to achieve maximum possible efficiency and break down tasks into very simple and repetitive steps (to minimize mistakes). The low profit margin may be the catalyst for the EMS’s product quality and safety being compromised, the minimal incentive to invest in employee well-being and working conditions all for the sake of saving an extra dollar in order to increase their profit margin. When profit margins are low, the slightest increase is worth it (at least to companies trying to enlarge their bottom line).
My take away from ethics and green supply chains was learning that in supply chains you need to take the environment into account when deciding glass or cans. Glass is greener to manufacture but cans are greener to transport and recycle so If a company is shipping all around a country it is better if they package with cans since it is more environmentally friendly.
I learned this week that a ethical company takes its impact on the environment seriously. Although, I believe that many companies don’t, and are worried more about reducing costs. The only way this will change is if strict policies are put in place that these companies have to follow.
This week we were taught the reasons for ethical and green supply chains. We were taught the impact a green company can have on the environment, and simply put, the impact they can have to help protect the environment, but we also learned about companies that do not care or want to be green. They do not care because they are the leading market getters in their respective industries, and they do not want to impact their profit margins by maybe spending that extra dollar or two to ensure their products are more eco-friendly.
My key takeaways from our discussion regarding ethics and environment in supply chains is that the majority of the companies do not take the necessary steps to be environmental friendly. It costs to be environmental friendly and most companies do not care whether they pollute the earth or not. In regards to Foxconn, I learned that the employees were treated so poorly there that many were forced to commit suicide. Despite the working/living conditions, many Chinese workers wanted to work for Foxconn because they compensated their employees much better then other companies.
I learned a lot this week about how companies handle ethical and environmental issues in supply chains, and how a lot do not take the proper procedures or protocol for environmental issues. I also was interested in the Foxconn case because this is a huge company that a lot of big brand companies use for their products (ex. Apple.) However, you don’t see on the news how Foxconn employees are treated so horribly and how they have a huge suicide problem.
The ethical supply chain aspect to the course was very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the case this week because it introduced me to a whole new aspect in supply chains. Before learning about this recent supply chain revolution, I always considered companies just tried to lower costs as best as they could without thinking of the consequences. Now, companies need to consider how their suppliers their employees with wages, working conditions, etc.
It is no doubt that many companies are striving to become more environmentally friendly, and I think that greening the supply chains–from sourcing, production, distribution, and reverse logistics–will definitely benefit the environment, consumers, and the corporations themselves. Companies are also being criticized for their ethical behaviors, or lack thereof. Many companies outsource production to foreign countries, and the major criticism is the improper and unfair treatment of employees–foreigners are overworked, underpaid, lack benefits and motivation, have unsanitary living conditions and minimal social lives, etc. Majors companies are now being monitored by the general public and are beginning to follow laws and impose regulations upon their partnering companies in foreign countries to improve their practices.