Business Ethics Across Cultures Article Review
Business Ethics Across Cultures Article Review: mb.. America has not always had the same working conditions and ethical guidelines it has today, in fact in the early 1920’s American industries painted a very different picture. There were no child labor laws so it was acceptable that twelve year olds went to work to “feed the family.” There were no safety guidelines in place, if you got your arm chopped off working for the railroad then your oldest child had to go to work to make up for your lost wages. There certainly were no ethical standards that companies and employees had to follow; women did not work outside the home so there were also no sexual harassment laws in place. American Industry in the early 1900’s was a lot like China is today; perhaps this is why so many American jobs are lost to China every day.
The first article reviewed for the Business Ethics across Cultures article review was about issues with Wal-Mart and China. Almost every product that is sold in Wal-Mart stores today are made in China although that is not what Sam Walton would have wanted you to believe in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. “One of Sam Walton 's earliest imports from Asia was team spirit. Enthused by a factory cheer he witnessed in 1975 at a Korean tennis ball plant, Walton instituted his own "Wal-Mart Cheer," still a staple of the company 's corporate culture. He liked the dramatic device for its "whistle while you work philosophy." Wal-Mart was not the first retailer to “cash in on low-wage Asian labor” (PBS, 2005) he followed in the footsteps of other big name department stores such as K-mart and Target. Although Wal-Mart was not the first in Asia, Wal-Mart certainly was the most business savvy, constantly “moving around to chase lower wages” (PBS, 2005).
Sam Walton was afraid of what Americans might think of Wal-Mart as a company, if we knew how much product was being purchased there. The leadership in China was Communist and oppressive and Sam
The first article reviewed for the Business Ethics across Cultures article review was about issues with Wal-Mart and China. Almost every product that is sold in Wal-Mart stores today are made in China although that is not what Sam Walton would have wanted you to believe in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. “One of Sam Walton 's earliest imports from Asia was team spirit. Enthused by a factory cheer he witnessed in 1975 at a Korean tennis ball plant, Walton instituted his own "Wal-Mart Cheer," still a staple of the company 's corporate culture. He liked the dramatic device for its "whistle while you work philosophy." Wal-Mart was not the first retailer to “cash in on low-wage Asian labor” (PBS, 2005) he followed in the footsteps of other big name department stores such as K-mart and Target. Although Wal-Mart was not the first in Asia, Wal-Mart certainly was the most business savvy, constantly “moving around to chase lower wages” (PBS, 2005).
Sam Walton was afraid of what Americans might think of Wal-Mart as a company, if we knew how much product was being purchased there. The leadership in China was Communist and oppressive and Sam
References: PBS. (2005). Wal-Mart and China: A Joint Venture. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/wmchina.html University of Pompeii. (2005). Implementation of Ethics Codes in Germany: The Wal-Mart Case. Retrieved from http://www.upf.edu/iuslabor/032005/art11.htm