Discrimination Management

Question: Analyze and evaluate laws that protect against discrimination in the workplace. Examine and assess employee rights to health and safety in the workplace. Analyze environmental protection laws and assess their impact on organizations. Use technology and information resources to research issues in law, ethics, and corporate governance. Write clearly and concisely about law, ethics, and corporate governance using proper writing mechanics. Answer: The term stakeholder is of wide significance in theories of management. The term signifies, individuals, organizations or groups whose interests must be taken care of by the leaders or managers of the organization. R. Edward Freeman in Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach 1984 has defined the term stakeholder as being an individual or group who have the potential to affect or are affected by the accomplishment of the objectives of the organization. Stakeholders may also be referred to be individuals or groups who possess the potential to affect the future of an organization. Sans this power, an individual or group is not a stakeholder. Stakeholders of PharmaCARE Investors: They invest money in the organization because the organization promises them an income in return. Managers: The management may as well derive income from the success of the organization, and thus they put in their efforts. Employees Workers: Employees serve the organization and get paid in lieu of such service. Customers: The organization meets its obligation with the money provided by the customers. Suppliers: They supply goods or raw materials to the organization and derive income. Families of the Employees: The organization takes up a lot of time of the employee's family even if he or she is not working overtime. This time could have been otherwise spent with spouse and children. Community: The organization would not have survived without the community that provides roads, electricity, police protection, etc. Government: The government derives income from the company in the form of taxes. Special Interest Groups: The organization undertakes educational programs concerning health care and scholarships. Thus, these groups are also the stakeholders. PharmaCARE is a company based in New Jersey of the United States of America. The United States is a participant of the United States Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Declaration primarily supports the idea that all individuals must be treated in a dignified manner and should have certain freedoms. Some of these include; the right to fair remuneration, rest and leisure and a basic standard of living. In PharmaCARE the human rights issues involved in the treatment of the executives and the Colberian workers is primarily that of discrimination. The company is not providing to the Colberian workers the basic rights to fair remuneration, proper living conditions and on the other hand, the executives are being provided with the luxuries of life. Recommendations The company can provide the Colberian workers with fair wages. The company may take steps to improve the working conditions of the workers. The company can provide the workers accommodations with electricity and water facilities. By adopting these steps, PharmaCARE can become an ethical organization. PharmaCARE on the one hand, undertakes changes in packaging processes, does recycling and other initiatives for the protection of the environment. On the other hand, it does not abide the environmental laws and regulations which have been created by the CERCLA and also violates the human rights of the Colberian workers regarding fair remuneration, proper working conditions and adequate standard of living. The initiatives of PharmaCARE regarding the environmental protection primarily requires it to abide by the CERCLA as the release of pollutions from its factories would cause greater injury to the public at large as compared to the good done by the initiatives which the company is taking in this regard. Moreover, it must also make sure that the Colberian workers human rights are not violated by its company policies. The basic purpose of the CERCLA is to cleanse the environment of the hazardous releases into the environment that may endanger the health of the public. Thus, it is essen tial that the company abides by this law. Together with the initiatives it is taking as regards environmental issues, and the following of the CIRCLA rules the company can become an environment-friendly company. UTILITARIANISM provides that morality is a means to an end but is not an end in itself. No action is deemed to be intrinsically right or wrong by this theory. The rightness of an action, as per this theory depends upon the good that results from such action. Now analyzing the actions of PharmaCARE towards the indigenous communities of Colberia with respect to the theory of utilitarianism theory, we may say that its actions are not ethical. The reason being that the actions are not generating good for the greatest number of people, the company executives who are fewer in number the enjoying the luxuries of life and the Colberian workers are unable to procure the basic requirements of life. DEONTOLOGICAL theory of ethics emphasizes that duty should be performed for the sake of performing it and not by concentrating on the consequence. The action of PharmaCARE when analyzed against the concept of deontological theory of ethics, we may deduce that its actions are not ethical. It is the duty of the company to take care that the human rights of the workers are not violated by its policies. But in this case, the company is not abiding by its duty of ensuring the human rights of the workers. VIRTUE ethics is concerned more with the person rather than the actions or consequences. Virtue ethics requires an individual to act in such a manner as a virtuous person would do in similar circumstances. The actions of the company when viewed with respect to the virtue ethics we may say that the said actions are not ethical. The actions of the company are not at all the actions of virtues. It is not virtuous to not pay proper wages to workers or not provide them with proper working conditions. ETHICS OF CARE is regarded to be one of the types of virtue ethics. This type of ethics lays emphasis on the significance of response. Individuals have dependence and interdependence on each other. Thus, when one is dependent upon the choices made the other, the latter must consider the interest of the former while making decisions. Attentiveness, competence, responsibility and responsiveness are the characteristics of this category of ethics. Now analyzing the actions of PharmaCARE in the light of ethics of care, we may say that its actions are not at all ethical. The Cloberian workers are a vulnerable group and are dependent upon the decisions taken by the company in this regard. The company must have taken into consideration their interests while making decisions. However, the company is exploiting them. Thus, their actions are not ethical as regards the ethics of care. MY ETHICAL VIEWPOINT does not as well support the actions of the PharmaCARE with respect to the Cloberian workers. It is not ethical from any respect to violate the human rights of individuals and to undermine their interests and well-being. They do not pay them the proper wages or provide them with proper working conditions or accommodations. All these actions are not at all ethical. I would analyze the actions taken by PharmaCARE with Mansato Company, which is an agricultural biotechnological and Agro Chemical Corporation based in the United States. This company is one of the most unethical companies in the world. The company is into the business of manufacturing genetically modified foods. In fact, it leads the world production of genetically modified foods. The company sues such farmers who intend to grow food ethically and organically. Even though Monsanto does not win the legal battle, it makes sure that the small farmers become bankrupt as a consequence of bearing the litigation expenses. The company is also the manufacturer of herbicide, called, Roundup which is a weed killer. Research has revealed that the said weed killer is harmful to both the environment and the human beings. In fact, studies show that this weed killer has the potential to cause the death of an unborn child as well. The World Health Organization has revealed that the glyphosate contain ed in Roundup may cause cancer in human beings. Now, comparing the activities of the two companies, i.e., Monsanto Co. and PharmaCARE, we may say that both companies are acting unethically. However, the degree is varying. In case of Monsanto, the degree is higher. They are directly causing harm to human health and not abiding by the environmental laws. Human life is at stake. However, PharmaCARE is primarily violating the human rights of the Colberian workers and is not abiding by the rules and regulations of CERCLA. Though these are pretty much, unethical practices yet are far less grave as compared to the actions of Monsanto Co. Monsanto is also not allowing other farmers to grow organic food and thus is violating their human rights as well as fundamental rights. PharmaCARE may become an ethical company by making few changes in its policy, but the same is not true for Monsanto Co.The only similarity between the actions of both the companies is that they are acting unethically and are violating human rights. Their actions are une thical as regards all the theories of ethics.