1. Should Nike be held responsible for working conditions in foreign factories that it does not own, but where subcontractors make products for Nike?
No, I do not believe Nike should be responsible for working conditions in foreign factories. I do believe that there should be working standards in place and adhered to but I do not believe that is Nike’s responsibility. Nike is a business in order to run a successful business one must abide by good business practices including respecting others beliefs and values. It would be no different than if a Nike employee another employee how to raise their kids. As long as they are abiding by the laws governed in that their own country people are free to raise their children how they please.
2. What labor standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like, should Nike hold foreign factories to: those prevailing in that country, or those prevailing in the United States?
Nike should uphold the standards prevailing in the particular country. If there are issued regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, etc, they should be discussed through separate entities, for instance the United Nations.
3. An income of $2.28 a day, the base pay of Nike factory workers in Indonesia, is double the daily income of about half the working population. Half of all adults in Indonesia are farmers, who receive less than $1 a day. Given this, is it correct to criticize Nike for the low pay rates of its subcontractors in Indonesia?
It is not appropriate to criticize Nike for low pay rates. According to salary.gov, the average American income is 46,326. If a company from United Arab of Emirates came exports products from a store in the U.S. and paid the works 105,623 (equal to the percentage raise Nike is paying in Indonesia), Americans would be grateful.
4. Could Nike have handled the negative publicity over sweatshops better? What might it have done differently, not just from a public